On Monday, October 17, the Southern District Military Court extended the term of detention for the defendants in the so-called second Simferopol Hizb ut-Tahrir case. Enver Ametov, Osman Arifmemetov, Yashar Muedinov, Ruslan Suleimanov and Rustem Sheykhaliev will remain in the pre-trial detention center until December 20, 2022.
We remind you that on March 27, 2019, Russian security forces in the occupied Crimea conducted mass searches in 26 houses of Crimean Tatars. Literature was confiscated from some activists, which, according to Crimean Solidarity, the security forces themselves planted. In addition to books and brochures, phones, tablets, laptops, and passports were confiscated from people. The security forces behaved rudely. They reportedly used physical force against the detainees. They entered the house in shoes. Lawyers who arrived at the site of the searches were not allowed to see their clients. According to the results, 20 people were detained, who are 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 homes in their absence. On March 27-28, the occupation court arrested all 23 Crimean Tatar activists detained after searches. They chose a measure of restraint in the form of detention. Subsequently, all the defendants in the so-called case were repeatedly extended the terms of arrest.