Crimean Tatar Muslim released from prison due to blindness

A court in Krasnoyarsk Krai has released blind Crimean Muslim Alexander Sizikov from a 17-year sentence. The motion for release was filed by the Federal Penitentiary Service.

In March, the prisoner was examined at the Krasnoyarsk Tuberculosis Hospital. Due to his complete blindness, the medical institution recommended releasing him from the prison. The corresponding motion was filed with the court by the Federal Penitentiary Service.

After the arrest of the Crimean, his lawyers sought to have him examined and released. However, their attempts were unsuccessful. Alexander Sizikov was found guilty of ties to the Islamic political party Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is banned in the Russian Federation. He had been in a pre-trial detention center and under house arrest since July 2020. In May 2023, the Southern District Military Court sentenced him to 17 years in a maximum security penal colony.

It is noteworthy that since January 2015, in Crimea, which came under the de facto control of Russia, criminal cases have been opened en masse for participation in this battalion, as well as in the Hizb ut-Tahrir party. According to human rights activists, Crimean Tatars are being persecuted not for preparing a coup d'etat and terrorism, but for criticizing the Russian authorities and speaking out against repressions in Crimea.

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