The verdict handed down today in the Southern District Military Court of Rostov-on-Don in the case of the Alushta group Hizb ut-Tahrir is nothing more than a continuation of the policy of ousting the indigenous Crimean Tatar people and its representative bodies, an act of suppression and condemation for religious beliefs.
Four Crimean residents, Ruslan Mesutov, Ruslan Nagaev, Eldar Kantimirov, and Lenur Khalilov, were sentenced to 18, 13, 12, and 18 years in a maximum security prison on terrorism charges.
Four persons were detained on June 10, 2019 in Crimea after searches of their homes on charges of belonging to an Islamic political party, which has been banned in Russia since 2003. On the territory of Ukraine and most countries of the world this organization operates without restrictions at the level of national legislation.
On July 18, 2019, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on Russia to release all Ukrainian political prisoners, including those who are involved in this criminal case.
Once again, we call on the Russian Federation to end the persecution of Ukrainian citizens on national and religious grounds in the temporarily occupied Crimea and to release detainees immediately.
Photo: Crimean solidarity