A secret witness under the pseudonym “Mustafayev” was unable to answer questions during interrogation in the case of the first Dzhankoy group of Hizb ut-Tahrir. Lawyer Emil Kurbedinov spoke about this. He emphasized that the witness with a high degree of probability “is an agent of the special services” and there was no reason to classify him.

As part of this case, Crimean Tatar political prisoners are being tried - activist Enver Krosh, civil journalist Vilen Temeryanov, as well as Rinat Aliyev, Murat Mustafayev, Seityagi Abbozov and Edem Bekirov. “People are persecuted for their active journalistic work, activist activities, political and religious views. Witnesses for the prosecution wander from one criminal case to another,” Kurbedinov noted.

Crimean Tatars were arrested in Dzhankoy in August 2022. They were suspected of having connections with the Islamic political party Hizb ut-Tahrir, banned in the Russian Federation.

The main evidence in this criminal case is an audio recording of a conversation in a mosque from 2015. Emil Kurbedinov is sure that it was removed from the FSB archives eight years later. “All these years these people have not been criminally prosecuted and have not posed any danger to society,” says the defense lawyer.