Three Crimean Tatar political prisoners sentenced to terms of 12 to 17 years

The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced three Muslims from Bakhchisarai to 12 to 17 years in a strict regime colony in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case.

Hairdresser Alim Sufyanov and builder Seyran Khayredinov were sentenced to 12 years in prison, visually impaired Alexander Sizikov was sentenced to 17 years.

Khayredinov compared the persecution of the Crimean Tatars, which began in 2014, with the Stalinist deportation of the people in 1944. “The events of today are a continuation of that terrible story, only in the place of our grandparents were their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and the label of “traitors” was changed to a new, modern label of “terrorists,” he said in his last word. All three were found guilty of participating in a terrorist organization. The Islamic party Hizb ut-Tahrir is recognized as such in the Russian Federation. It operates freely in many countries of the world and Europe, where its members are not prosecuted as terrorists.

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