Crimean Tatar political prisoners accused of terrorism for talking about prayers

An audio recording of conversations about prayer, secretly made in a mosque back in 2015, became evidence for the prosecution in the case of the “first Jankoy group” of Hizb ut-Tahrir. Previously, its participants - activist Enver Krosh, journalist Vilen Temeryanov, Rinat Aliyev, Murat Mustafayev, Seityagi Abbozov and Edem Bekirov - were recognized as political prisoners.

“The defendants discussed a number of issues about namaz: how to perform namaz, what Sharia norms are on this matter, and so on. There was no talk about terrorism and extremism. This once again proves the nature of the criminal cases against our clients,” commented lawyer Emil Kurbedinov.

According to security officials, Enver Krosh created a cell of the Islamic political party Hizb ut-Tahrir, banned in the Russian Federation, in the Dzhankoy region of Crimea. Rinat Aliyev, Seityaga Abbozov, Edem Bekirov and Vilen Temeryanov became its participants. Security officials said that the Crimean Tatars were preparing for a violent seizure of power.

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