Translated material
Another convict in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case has been held in a punishment cell since February
Eldar Kantimirov, convicted in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case, has been held in the ShIZO since February 15. This is reported by "Crimean solidarity" with reference to his wife.
Initially, the prisoner was sent to the ShIZO for 12 days, but the period of his detention there is extended over and over again. In a letter to his wife, Kantimirov said that a variety of reasons are found for imposing a penalty: “I didn’t fasten the button, I didn’t remove my hands back. Somehow they extended the ShIZO for me when I washed my pants from the robe, and in the evening I went out behind the mattress in insulated underpants. The man believes that the real reason for the pressure is his Ukrainian citizenship.
During his stay in the ShIZO, Kantimirov's state of health has deteriorated - he is worried about pain in the lumbar region and back. The man went to the medical unit, but he was not provided with assistance, and the special medical rug that he used to relieve pain was taken away.
In February, two Crimean Tatars, Kantimirov and Timur Yalkabov, also convicted in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case, were sent to a punishment cell in Prison No. 1 in Dimitrovgrad (Ulyanovsk Region). Employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service conducted several searches in their cell and seized the men's personal belongings without an inventory, as well as took away their prayer rugs, using physical assault.
yet Yalkabov, too, has not been released from the ShIZO. The man has a disability of group III due to bronchial asthma. In custody, his health deteriorated - attacks of suffocation began.
In August 2021, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Kantimirov to 12 years in a strict regime colony with limited liberty after his release for a period of one year. He was found guilty under articles on organizing and participating in the activities of a terrorist organization (parts 1 and 2 of article 205.5 of the Criminal Code) and preparations for the violent overthrow of power (article 278 of the Criminal Code with the application of article 30 of the Criminal Code).
- The Islamist party Hizb ut-Tahrir has been recognized as a terrorist organization in Russia. Its participants are accused and sentenced to real terms only on the basis that they met in apartments, read religious literature and recruited new participants. According to the Information and Analytical Center “Sova” and the project “Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial , the party was illegally recognized as terrorist in Russia.
- According to the project “Help to Political Prisoners. Memorial” as of February 23, 2023, at least 334 people are being prosecuted in connection with involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami, of which 27 are wanted. At least 253 people were convicted, of which 107 defendants were sentenced to terms of more than fifteen years in prison. In total, Memorial recognized as political prisoners 280 defendants in cases of involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami (233 of them are currently being prosecuted, and 47 of them were released after serving their sentences).