On Tuesday, June 9, during a so-called court session on the so-called second Simferopol Hizb ut-Tahrir case, political prisoner Osman Arifmemetov once again stated that the whole case is fabricated, and the evidence is falsified and absurd. He emphasized that the occupation authorities are persecuting the Crimean Tatars because of their political position. It is reported by the Crimean Solidarity public association.
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“What they accuse me of is lies and persecution for far-fetched reasons. The whole case is fabricated, and the evidence is falsified and absurd. FSB officers cheat on my compatriots, supposedly inviting them for conversation, forge signatures, and then summon them as witnesses to court”,- Arifmemetov emphasized.
The political prisoner noted that planted books and overheard conversations are presented as the so-called evidence, that is, “in essence, a fight against dissent.”
We remind that on March 27, 2019, Russian security forces in the occupied Crimea carried out mass searches in 26 Crimean Tatars' dwellings. Literature was seized from some activists, which, according to Crimean Solidarity, the security forces planted themselves. In addition to books and brochures, people were confiscated phones, tablets, laptops, passports. The servicemen behaved rudely. It is reported that they used physical force against detainees and entered the houses in shoes. Lawyers who arrived at the site of the searches were not allowed to contact the detainees. According to the results of the searches, 20 people were suspected of involvement in the Hizb ut-Tahrir organization, which is banned in the Russian Federation. On March 28, three more Crimean Tatar activists were detained, in whose dwellings searches were carried out in their absence. On March 27-28, the occupation court arrested all 23 detainees after searches. They chose a preventive measure in the form of detention. Subsequently, all the individuals involved in this so-called case were repeatedly extended the terms of their arrest.