Russia sentences 4 Crimean Tatars to lengthy prison terms.

A Russian military court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced four Crimean Tatars to lengthy prison terms on "terrorism" charges,  the human rights group Crimean Solidarity announced[1] on May 31. Jebbar Bekirov was sentenced to 17 years in prison, while Rustem Murasov, Zavur Abdullaiev, and Rustem Tairov were sentenced to 12 years. The four Crimean Tatars were detained in August 2021 by the Russian occupation authorities in Crimea in the so-called "second Sevastopol Hizb ut-Tahrir group" case.

Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamist group with a following among Crimean Tatars, is not banned in most European countries, but Russian authorities routinely jail members of the group for essentially peaceful activities, defining them as "terrorism." "Unfounded, illegal sentence. These people are not criminals.

What they did was absolutely good, they helped other families, came to the courts, supported them, they had their own position, they practiced their religion," said Emil Kurbedinov, a lawyer working with Crimean Solidarity. Crimea has been under Russian occupation[2] since 2014, and the Crimean Tatars who remained on the peninsula have faced regular persecution by occupation authorities.

In the shadow of war, Kremlin continues terrorizing Crimean Tatars They usually come at four or five in the morning.

Men in uniform and with guns pull up in large vehicles. The dogs start barking. The family wakes up, knowing exactly what is about to happen.

The house is searched. Phones and computers are taken away. And so is the

News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent.

He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He also volunteers as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukrainer. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

References

1. ^ announced (www.facebook.com)
2. ^ Russian occupation (kyivindependent.com)
3. ^ In the shadow of war, Kremlin continues terrorizing Crimean TatarsThey usually come at four or five in the morning.

   Men in uniform and with guns pull up in large vehicles. The dogs start barking. The family wakes up, knowing exactly what is about to happen.

   The house is searched.

   Phones and computers are taken away.

   And so is the (kyivindependent.com)