Crimean Tatar Muslim community liquidated in Crimea
A court in Crimea liquidated the independent Muslim community "Alushta" at the request of the local Ministry of Justice.
The members of the organization have been repeatedly brought to administrative responsibility. Its imam Yusuf Ashirov was accused of illegal missionary work (Article 5.26 of the Code of Administrative Offenses).
The former chairman of "Alushta" Lenur Khalilov and member Ruslan Mesutov were sentenced in 2021 to 18 years in prison in the case of involvement in "Hizb ut-Tahrir". These court decisions, as well as the untimely exclusion of convicted people from the organization, were used by the Ministry of Justice to justify its demand for liquidation.
"The community is independent," noted lawyer Rustem Kyamilev. "It was not controlled by the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Crimea (DUMK) and, accordingly, by the state. As we know, the state's rhetoric on such independent communities is as follows: they are legally permitted, but their number is minimal. They try to influence its processes in every possible way, both legal and illegal."
