The Southern Area Military Court of Rostov-na-Donu, the Russian Federation, delivered its verdict on the Dzhankoi Group 2 defendants in the “Hizb ut-Tahrir case.” Six Crimean Tatars were sentenced to between 11 and 14 years in confinement.
According to Crimean Solidarity, the verdict was handed down to Khalil Mambetov, a 69-year-old Dzhankoi resident, a household appliances technician, and Refat Seidametov, a 55-year-old businessman from the Dzhankoi District. For both of them the prosecutor had demanded 17.5 years in the maximum security regime penal colony. Both were drawn a 14-years’ sentence, with the first four years to be served in prison and the remainder in the maximum-security regime penal colony. The court also imposed a one-year restriction of liberty on each of them after their release from prison.
Earlier, the prosecutor had also requested 17 years in custody for Osman Abdurazakov, a 41-year-old construction worker, Leman Zekeriaiev, a 51-year-old construction worker, Aider Asanov, a 31-year-old ATM technician, and Ekrem Krosh, a 39-year-old household appliance technician. Finally, Krosh, Zekeriaiev, and Abdurazakov were drawn the same sentence – 14 years in custody.
Only Aider Asanov was sentenced to 11 years in custody, with serving the first three years in prison and the remainder in the maximum-security regime penal colony, with subsequent restriction of liberty for one year.
All six activists were found guilty of involvement in the Hizb ut-Tahrir, the Islamic political party, activities (RF CC Article 205.5-2) as well as of the preparations for the violent seizure of power (RF CC Article 30-1 and Article 278).
Khalil Mambetov, a 69-year-old political prisoner and the oldest defendant in the case, stated that they, Muslims, had been put on trial “on sweeping charges without providing any evidence or facts to prove their guilt.”
Osman Abdurazakov, in his last statement, emphasized that the case defendants were being tried not for their actual actions, but for their active stance. “For not keeping silence when we see lawlessness of the authorities against our people,” he added.
The rest of the defendants refrained from making final statements, considering the trial biased, as lawyer Lilia Gemedzhi informed Crimean Solidarity. She said that during the debates, court-appointed and contracted lawyers had pointed out numerous procedural violations in the case.
