On Wednesday, July 15, in the Southern District Military Court of the city of Rostov-on-Don, another court session was held against the defendants in the second so-called Bakhchisaray Hizb ut-Tahrir case, during which the defense witnesses were forbidden to testify in the Crimean Tatar language. This was reported by the Crimean Solidarity public association.
“The first witness for the defense is Zair Smedlyaev. This is the head of the CEC of the Qurultay of the Crimean Tatar people, who expressed a desire to testify in favor of the defendants. He decides to communicate through an interpreter. He says that he understands Russian, but wants to communicate in his native Crimean Tatar language. Judge Zubairov asks him to testify in Russian, because the proceedings in the military courts are held in Russian. The court promises to take a refusal to testify in Russian as a refusal to testify in general”,- the message said.
Also, the ex-chairman of the Committee of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea on information Shevket Memetov and 82-year-old veteran of the Crimean Tatar national movement Izet Isedinov were also witnesses. They also wanted to testify in the Crimean Tatar language, but the court refused them.
We remind that on October 11, 2017, in the city of Bakhchisaray, the invaders carried out mass searches in 6 dwellings of Crimean Tatars – Marlen Asanov, Seiran Saliiev, Timur Ibrahimov, Memet Belyalov, Ernest Ametov, Server Zakiryaev. Everyone was detained. They were charged under Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Participation in the activities of an organization which, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, is recognized as terrorist”.
On May 21, 2018, Russian security forces raided the dwellings of activists of the Crimean Solidarity public association in the occupied Crimea, as a result of which Server Mustafayev and Edem Smailov were detained. They were also accused of their membership in Hizb ut-Tahrir organisation, which is prohibited on the territory of the Russian Federation.
In February 2019, a criminal case was opened against eight individuals involved in the so-called second Bakhchisaray Hizb ut-Tahrir case – Marlen Asanov, Seiran Saliiev, Timur Ibrahimov, Memet Belyalov, Ernest Ametov, Server Zakiryaev, Server Mustafayev and Edem Smailov (“Violent seizure of power or violent retention of power”).
On March 5, it became known that the two defendants in the so-called second Bakhchysarai Hizb ut-Tahrir case – Timur Ibrahimov and Memet Belyalov – had their charge tightened from part two of Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code (“participation in the activities of a terrorist organization”) to the part one (“organization of the activities of a terrorist organization”).
On September 12, all eight defendants the so-called second Bakhchisaray Hizb ut-Tahrir case: Marlen Asanov, Server Zakiryaev, Memet Belyalov, Seiran Saliiev, Ernest Ametov, Timur Ibrahimov, Edem Smailov and Server Mustafayev were transferred from Crimea to Rostov-on-Don.