Crimean Tatar political prisoner placed in solitary confinement after transfer to penal colony
Crimean Tatar activist Rustem Seitkhalilov was sent to a punishment cell for 14 days immediately after being transferred to IK-9 in Petrozavodsk (Karelia). This was reported by his wife. She does not know the reasons for placing her husband in solitary confinement.
In March 2022, Seitkhalilov and four other people were found guilty of participating in the activities of a terrorist organization and preparing to overthrow the government. They were accused of ties to the Islamic party Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is banned in the Russian Federation. According to the case materials, the accused did not have weapons, did not plan to commit a terrorist act, and did not call on others to commit terrorist acts.
Since January 2015, criminal cases on Hizb ut-Tahrir have been opened en masse in Crimea, which came under the de facto control of Russia. In Ukraine, the party's activities are not prohibited. Before the peninsula came under Russian control, the organization's activists were publishing a newspaper, could speak openly in the media, and hold mass public events.
According to human rights activists, the party members are being persecuted not for preparing a coup d'etat and terrorism, but for criticizing the Russian authorities and the repressions in Crimea. In most countries of the world, Hizb ut-Tahrir operates without restrictions.
