On Friday, December 11, the Supreme court of the occupied Crimea extended the defendants’ detention period in the second Simferopol “Hizb ut-Tahrir case” . Alim Karimov, Rustem Sheikhaliev, Erfan Osmanov, Osman Arifmemetov, Medzhit Abdurakhmanov, Izzet Abdullaev, Vladlen Abdulkadyrov, and Ruslan Suleymanov will remain in custody until January 14, 2021.
Let us recall that on March 27, 2019, Russian security forces in the occupied Crimea conducted mass searches in 26 houses of the Crimean Tatars. They confiscated literature, which, according to the Crimean Solidarity, the security officials planted themselves. In addition to books and brochures, phones, tablets, laptops, and passports got confiscated from people. The FSB officers behaved brutally, reportedly used physical force against the detainees, and went into houses in their shoes. The lawyers who arrived at the site of the searches were not allowed to see their clients. As a result, 20 people were detained, suspected of involvement in the Hizb ut-Tahrir organization banned in the Russian Federation. On March 28, three more Crimean Tatar activists were detained, and searches were carried out in their houses in abscentia. On March 27-28, the occupation court arrested all 23 Crimean Tatar activists detained after the searches. They have chosen a preventive measure in the form of detention. Subsequently, all the defendants in the "case" were repeatedly extended the terms of their arrest.