The Rostov court sent another five Crimean extremists to the colony
The Southern District Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced five members of the banned terrorist organization "Islamic Liberation Party" - "Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami".
This is the latest decision in the case of extremist activities, in which a total of 29 people are involved, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
According to the investigation, in 2016, the men joined the Crimean cell of Hizb ut-Tahrir, actively participated in events and conspiracy meetings, studied ideological materials and prohibited literature. In addition, they received training in propaganda and agitation in order to attract residents of the peninsula to the terrorist organization.
The court found them guilty of participating in the activities of a terrorist organization aimed at forcibly seizing power (part 2 of article 205.5, part 1 of article 30 and article 278 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and sentenced them to imprisonment for 13 and 14 years in a maximum security correctional colony, with serving the first 4 years in prison and subsequent restriction of freedom for a year.
Since January 2015, supporters of Hizb ut-Tahrir began to be detained in Crimea. They position themselves as a social movement that does not have extremist overtones. But Hizb ut-Tahrir declared its goal to be the creation of a universal world Islamic state (caliphate), living according to Sharia law. The pro-Islamic political party Hizb ut-Tahrir has been banned in Russia since 2003. In Ukraine, the activities of this organization were not stopped, therefore, after Crimea became part of the Russian Federation, supporters of Hizb ut-Tahrir found themselves outside the law.
This is the fourth verdict against active Hizb ut-Tahrir supporters detained in March 2019. Some tried to escape; some were detained at the Russian-Ukrainian border checkpoint. But in the end, 25 people came under investigation, and 4 more were put on the wanted list. Subsequently, all defendants in the case were additionally charged with preparing for a violent seizure of power and changing the constitutional system of Russia.
For the convenience of considering the case, the accused were divided into “fives”. Fifteen participants have already received a sentence.
The fourth “five”, according to the Crimean Solidarity movement, which is trying to expose the persecution of Hizb ut-Tahrir activists on religious grounds, included activists Enver Ametov and Yashar Muedinov, as well as certain “civil journalists” Ruslan Suleymanov, Rustem Sheykhaliev and Osman Arithmemetov. All live in the Kamenka and Stroganovka microdistricts of the suburbs of Simferopol, actively took part in the trials of Crimean Tatar extremists, filmed and posted on the Internet unauthorized meetings and searches. The convicts did not admit their guilt, considering themselves political prisoners for religious reasons.
Rostov court sent another five Crimean extremists to prison.