Four Crimean Tatar women's pretrial detention extended by three months
A court in Simferopol extended the pretrial detention of mother-of-five Esma Nimetulayeva, 21-year-old businesswoman Fevziye Osmanova, 20-year-old student Elviza Aliyeva, and 19-year-old student Nasiba Saidova until September 14. They are accused of involvement with the Islamic party Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is designated a terrorist organization in Russia.
The hearing was held behind closed doors. Relatives were not allowed to speak with the defendants. Lawyer Emil Kurbedinov emphasized the law regulating the designation of organizations as terrorist.
"I drew the court's attention to the fact that, according to the federal law establishing the procedure for designating organizations as terrorist and adopted in 2007, Hizb ut-Tahrir was not designated as a terrorist organization," said Emil Kurbedinov.
However, the court ignored the defense's arguments.
On October 15, 2025, four Crimean Tatar women were detained in the Sevastopol and Bakhchisaray districts: Esma Nimetulayeva, Elviza Aliyeva, Nasiba Saidova, and Fevziye Osmanova. They were charged with ties to the Islamic political party Hizb ut-Tahrir, designated a terrorist organization in Russia but operating legally in many countries. During searches, books were discovered, which, according to the defendants' relatives, were planted on them.
This is the first case in Crimea related to Hizb ut-Tahrir involving women. Human rights activists believe the criminal prosecution of the Crimean Tatars is motivated by their civic stance and protests against repression.
