The Kyiv District Court of Simferopol remanded four Crimean Tatar women: Esma Nimetulayeva, Elviza Aliyeva, Nasiba Saidova, and Fevziye Osmanova, in pretrial detention for two months. The hearing was held behind closed doors, with limited access for support.
The women were arrested on October 15 on charges of ties to the Hizb ut-Tahrir party, which is banned in Russia. Nimetulayeva was charged with organizing the activities of a terrorist organization, while the others were charged with participating.
Esma Nimetulayeva is the mother of five minor children, and her husband has been in custody for over two years on similar charges. Elviza Aliyeva is a student at the Crimean Federal University. Nasiba Saidova is the daughter of a Crimean imam and a college student. Fevziye Osmanova worked in a store.
The defense insisted on a more lenient preventive measure, especially for Nimetulayeva, a mother of many children. Defense attorney Emil Kurbedinov stated that the case lacked compelling evidence to justify such a strict preventive measure, and that the investigator had not provided any specific facts to support the threat of concealment or destruction of evidence.
