Political prisoners involved in the so-called second Aqmescit (Simferopol) group of the Hizb ut-Tahrir case stated that they were not familiar with the witness whose testimony formed the basis of their criminal case. Lawyer Lilia Hemedzhi reported this to Crimean Solidarity.
The information of the prosecution witness was declassified during the trial, after which all the defendants stated that they had never communicated with this person. The defense stated its suspicions that the secret witness’s testimony was taken under pressure.
“All these secret witnesses were found by the relevant authorities to improve performance”,- says lawyer Lilia Hemedzhi.
The court ignored the lawyers’ request to have the case returned for further investigation and moved on to debate.
The political prisoners tried to claim that the panel of judges was biased towards them: in particular, lawyer Refat Yunus pointed out in the debate that there was no evidence in the case materials that Crimean Tatar activists participated in terrorist activities.
“The court’s verdict was based solely on assumptions”,- he said.
He also added that the trial court unlawfully refused to allow the defendants to speak their native language and did not provide an interpreter. In addition, activists complained to lawyers before the hearing that they were not receiving medical care in the pre-trial detention center.
Despite all the comments, the court interrupted the speeches of the political prisoners and did not return to them.
Journalist Rustem Sheikhaliiev suspects that he has heart failure. Ruslan Suleimanov, who has a congenital heart defect and has been diagnosed with intracardiac conduction disorder. After complaints from lawyer Lilia Hemedzhi, members of the Public Monitoring Committee visited pre-trial detention center 3 and promised to help improve the conditions of detention.
We remind you l 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, was planted by the security forces themselves. In addition to books and brochures, people’s phones, tablets, laptops, and passports were confiscated. The security forces behaved rudely.
It is reported that they used physical force against the detainees. They entered houses wearing shoes. Lawyers who arrived at the search site were not allowed to see their clients. As a result, 20 people were detained who were 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 their houses were searched in their absence. On March 27-28, the occupation court arrested all 23 Crimean Tatar activists detained after searches. They were chosen as a preventive measure in the form of detention. Subsequently, all those involved in the case had their arrest period repeatedly extended.