Sentenced to 11 years, an elderly Crimean Tatar political prisoner suffers from many diseases

65-year-old Crimean Tatar political prisoner and former music teacher Zekirya Muratov suffers from high blood pressure and heart failure. He is an invalid of the 3rd group and has gone through many operations. Despite this, he will have to spend 11 years in prison - now the man is in prison in the Saratov region.

In the summer of 2021, a political prisoner fell ill with COVID-19 in a pre-trial detention center. In serious condition, he was taken to the prison hospital with a diagnosis of bilateral pneumonia. In total, the man was in the ward for 48 days, but, despite his serious condition, the court left him in custody.

Earlier, Muratov was convicted of participation in the Islamic party Hizb ut-Tahrir, recognized as a terrorist party in the Russian Federation. According to human rights activists, party members are being persecuted not for preparing a coup d'etat and terrorism, but for public actions against political repressions in Crimea and criticism of the Russian authorities.

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