‘The administration of the colony needs a reason to make him an offender. Because the FSB, prosecutor’s office, military court – all set the task for the FSIN to make prisoners serving a sentence for terrorism, violators. Once every six months under such an article they must be placed in a lock-up – this is said in a direct text. If they don’t have a lock-up within six months, then the previous penalties that were imposed on them in the pre-trial detention centre before the verdict are cancelled,’ -Smailova said.
As the wife stressed, in the pre-trial detention centres in Novocherkassk and Rostov, video surveillance was installed for the group’s defendants, about which they were not warned and only recorded in the prisoners’ personal files.
‘If there are no penalties in the personal file, the detention conditions will not be tightened, and this will lead to the fact that the prisoners will be given the opportunity to get out on parole,’ – said the wife of a political prisoner.
The administration defined as violations different episodes: once he was blinded by the sun, and the Crimean Tatar corrected his glasses, while the commission said that at that time he should have kept his hands behind his back; he forgot to put on a hat and apron while at work; sat down to read a book at an unspecified time.
‘Basically, it’s all human error. The fact that he was without a headgear was taken as impertinence, even though he just forgot to put it on and didn’t do it on purpose. They said that he should repent, then the punishment would be less severe. These are very formal reasons for which disciplinary responsibility is envisaged,’ – Lilya Smailova explained.
According to lawyer Nazim Sheikhmambetov, for all such offences, for which the administration has claims, do not settle in the isolation centre.
‘In detention, his eyesight deteriorated. It was already bad, but it became even worse. He is not being examined. His teeth are deteriorating. So much so that he pulls them out himself – he doesn’t need a doctor. There’s a noise in his head. They only gave him pills to improve his circulation. But, compared to other political prisoners, his health is tolerable,’ – Smailova said.
Because of his stay in the lock-up, he cannot shop in the prison shop, call his relatives and see them for visits, as well as many other restrictions.
‘If before, when he was in the HPC, there were visits once every four months, a parcel could be sent once every three months, and he could call us three times a day, now there is nothing. There were several people in the cell in the HPC, six to eight. Now he is alone. It would be difficult for anyone. He tries to read, does exercises, is preparing for the appeal. It’s unknown when it will be, he’s been waiting for over a year,’ said the wife of the political prisoner.
We would like to remind that on 11 October 2017 in the city of Bakhchisaray, the occupiers conducted mass searches in 6 houses of Crimean Tatars – Marlen Asanov, Seiran Saliiev, Timur Ibragimov, Memet Belyalov, Ernes Ametov, Server Zekiryaev. All of them were detained. They were charged under Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ‘Participation in the activities of an organisation that is recognised as terrorist in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation’.
On 21 May 2018, in occupied Crimea, Russian security forces conducted searches in the homes of activists of the public association ‘Crimean Solidarity’, as a result of which Server Mustafayev and Edem Smailov were detained. They are also accused of participation, banned on the territory of the Russian Federation organisation ‘Hizb ut-Tahrir’.
In February 2019, a criminal case under Article 278 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (‘forcible seizure of power or forcible retention of power’) was opened against eight defendants of the second Bakhchisaray ‘Hizb ut-Tahrir case’ – Marlen Asanov, Seyran Saliiev, Timur Ibragimov, Memet Belyalov, Ernes Ametov, Server Zekiryaev, Server Mustafaev and Edem Smailov.
On 5 March, it became known that two defendants in the second Bakhchisaray ‘Hizb ut-Tahrir case’ – Timur Ibragimov and Memet Belyalov – had their charges toughened from part two of article 205.5 of the Criminal Code (‘participation in the activities of a terrorist organisation’) to part one (‘organisation of the activities of a terrorist organisation’).
On 16 September, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don announced the verdict to the defendants of the second Bakhchisaray ‘Hizb ut-Tahrir case’. Marlen Asanov was sentenced to 19 years in a strict regime colony, Memet Belyalov – to 18, Timur Ibragimov – to 17, Seyran Saliiev – to 16, Server Mustafayev – to 14, Server Zekiryaev and Edem Smailov – to 13. Ernes Ametov was found not guilty and released in the courtroom but later was detained again.