Lawyer and human rights activist Rustem Kiamiliev was detained for 10 days by the occupation security forces after the decision of the occupation “court” to impose administrative arrest on charges of allegedly “demonstrating extremist symbols.” Now, the human rights activist is held in a particular detention center in Simferopol. His lawyer, Edem Semedliaiev, appealed against the “court of first instance” decision. Today, on November 12, a meeting of the so-called “Supreme Court of Crimea” was held, during which the appeal was rejected, and Rustem was left in custody.

The so-called “judge” found Rustem Kamiliev allegedly guilty under Part 1 of Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation on “discrediting the Russian army,” which concerns the demonstration of “extremist symbols.” The illegal charge against Rustem Kamiliev was based on a Facebook repost in 2020, which referred to the so-called “trial” of Oleh Prykhodko. The photo showed Prykhodko with a picture of a trident and a red and black flag.

The second administrative report was drawn up for the so-called “discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation” based on the reposting of a video criticizing the wars in Syria and Ukraine in 2017. On these two illegal charges, Kamiliev was sentenced to 10 days in jail and fined 50 thousand rubles.

Rustem Kamiliev’s lawyer, Edem Semedliaiev, emphasized that the case does not contain any elements of an offense: 

“I believe that the norms of administrative law were violated. The “court” incompletely and prejudicially examined the case materials, containing insurmountable contradictions.”

As a reminder, on November 7, 2023, the occupation security forces of the so-called “Center for Countering Extremism” conducted an illegal search in the house of Rustem Kamilev and his wife, Lilia Hemedzhy. The formal reason for the search was Kamiliev’s suspicion of alleged “involvement in a terrorist organization.” However, according to Lilia Hemedzhy, the actual purpose was to seize phones and documents related to the lawyer’s status, as such actions are illegal within the framework of administrative proceedings.

During the illegal search, the representatives of the occupying security forces acted brutally: Ruslan Shambazov and Roman Filatov did not allow the lawyer’s daughter and wife to get dressed, and when Rustem Kamiliev tried to protect his wife, whose phone was taken away, he was brutally restrained and pressed face down to the floor. The occupiers also threatened the couple’s son with illegal conscription.

On March 20, 2023, Hemedzhy and Kamiliev’s lawyer’s licenses were revoked on appeal by the so-called “Crimean Bar Association”. Also, in May 2023, the spouses of the human rights defenders received illegal warnings about the “inadmissibility of violating the so-called ‘law on rallies.’”