A criminal case was again opened against a political prisoner sentenced to 23 years
A new criminal case was opened against political prisoner Rais Mavlyutov under the article on promoting terrorist activities. In 2021, he was sentenced to a long term of imprisonment in a maximum security colony.
Rais Mavlyutov was found guilty on charges of organizing the activities of a terrorist organization, its financing, as well as public justification of terrorism due to his alleged involvement in the Islamic party Hizb ut-Tahrir.
“The charges brought forward are based on the testimony of witnesses who spoke about ordinary activities that do not go beyond the law (meetings of believers, discussions of religion and politics, joint reading of literature). At the same time, there are serious doubts about the independence of the witnesses from the investigation: two of them are in custody, the identity of another is classified,” noted the project “Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial".
According to human rights activists, the status assigned to Hizb ut-Tahrir allows any of its activities to be considered “terrorist”—meetings, tea parties, discussions, and so on. Currently, at least 309 people are being persecuted in the Russian Federation in connection with their involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir.
