Crimean Tatar political prisoners have had their arrest extended
The Southern District Military Court extended the pretrial detention of Enver Krosh, Vilen Temeryanov, Rinat Aliyev, and Edem Bekirov for three months. Another Crimean Tatar, Seityag Abbozov, had his house arrest extended for the same period.
Criminal cases have been opened against Crimean Tatars for participating in the political party Hizb ut-Tahrir. It is recognized as terrorist in Russia, but it legally operates in Ukraine, Europe, and the world. Enver Krosh was tortured during his escort from northern Crimea to Simferopol.
Searches of the defendants' homes in the Bakhchisaray and Dzhankoy districts of Crimea took place in early March. Lawyer Emil Kurbedinov said that the evidence of the activists' involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir was an audio recording of a conversation in a mosque from 2015.
"The defendants discussed a number of issues about namaz: how to perform it, what Sharia norms there are on this matter, and so on. There were no conversations about terrorism or extremism. This once again proves the nature of the criminal cases against our clients," lawyer Emil Kurbedinov said earlier.
