Final Stage of Hizb ut-Tahrir Trial in Rostov: Severe Sentences Loom

The trial of the defendants of the second Dzhankoy group in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case has reached the final stage. On April 15, the parties held a debate in Rostov-on-Don, and the next meeting, at which a decision in the case is expected, is scheduled for April 28.

This was reported by Suspilne.

According to the lawyer, the case of the defendants of the second Dzhankoy group is being conducted with numerous violations, in particular, regarding wiretapping in a mosque in 2015, which was later stopped.

The lawyer also drew attention to the contradictions in the testimony and the quality of the examination conducted by a private firm instead of a state one. She emphasized that the charges are based on formal allegations of "militant Islamic propaganda" but do not contain specific evidence of the defendants' participation in terrorist activities. Despite this, the occupiers are asking for severe punishments for the defendants, including Osman Abdurazakov and others, with prison terms of up to 17.5 years.

In January 2023, searches were conducted in the Dzhankoy district of Crimea, which resulted in the detention of six Crimean Tatars, who were later transferred to Rostov-on-Don. They are accused of participating in the Hizb ut-Tahrir organization, which is banned in Russia but legal in Ukraine and other countries.

Crimean Ansar Osmanov, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Russian court, is being transferred to a colony in Vladimir. He was detained during mass searches in Crimea in February 2022, along with three other residents of the peninsula. All of them were accused of participating in the Hizb ut-Tahrir organization, which Russia considers a terrorist organization.

The sentence of political prisoner Irina Gorobtsova from Kherson was also upheld. She was accused of espionage and sentenced to more than 10 years in prison. The woman is being transferred to Crimea, where she lived before her arrest. After the beginning of the Russian occupation of Kherson in March 2022, she worked as a volunteer driver, helped medics and supported local residents who were subjected to violence by the occupiers.

Анна Бальчінос