The Kiev District Court of Simferopol extended the arrest of Memet Lyumanov, Aziz Azizov, Rustem Osmanov and Mustafa Abduramanov until August 2. Criminal cases were opened against Crimean Tatars for participation in a political party in Hizb ut-Tahrir. It is recognized as a terrorist organization in Russia, but at the same time it operates legally in Ukraine, European countries and the world.

Searches in the houses of the defendants in the Bakhchisaray and Dzhankoy regions of Crimea took place in early March. In addition to these persons, five more detainees were placed under arrest. These are Enver Khalilayev, Nariman Ametov, Ali Mamutov, the imam of the mosque in the village of Lobanovo Vakhid Mustafayev and activist Arsen Kashka.

“For 10 years, activists, religious figures, and citizen journalists have been persecuted for political and religious reasons. The cases of Hizb ut-Tahrir are formulaic. In court, investigators petitioned for a harsh preventive measure, imposed because our clients allegedly could escape, influence witnesses... These are standard phrases. Over all these long years, we have become convinced that not one of the detainees is a criminal,” shared lawyer Emil Kurbedinov.