Six Crimean Tatars have been asked to receive long prison terms

The prosecutor has asked for 17 years of strict regime imprisonment for 41-year-old Osman Abdurazakov, 51-year-old Leman Zekeryaev, 31-year-old Ayder Asanov, and 39-year-old Ekrem Krosh. They want to sentence 69-year-old Khalil Mambetov and 55-year-old Refat Seidametov to 17 and a half years of imprisonment.

Asanov's mother reported that law enforcement officers beat her son during the search. The wives of two other arrested people suggested that the security forces could have planted banned books.

Six Crimean Tatars were detained in January 2023 after searches under the article on participation in the activities of the Hizb ut-Tahrir party, which is considered terrorist in the Russian Federation. The defendants were also charged with the article on the violent seizure of power.

Since January 2015, in Crimea, which came under the de facto control of Russia, criminal cases on Hizb ut-Tahrir have been opened en masse. The party's activities are not banned in Ukraine. Before the peninsula came under the control of the Russian Federation, the activists of the organization were publishing a newspaper, could speak openly in the media and hold mass public events.

According to human rights activists, the party members are being persecuted not for preparing a coup d'etat and terrorism, but for criticizing the Russian authorities and the repressions in Crimea. In total, Memorial has recognized 280 defendants in cases of involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir as political prisoners.

Последние новости
В Осло имя Анны Политковской выложили из цветов
Human rights
В Осло имя Анны Политковской выложили из цветов
7 October 2026

Сегодня в разных странах мира проходят акции памяти Анны Политковской, посвящённые 20-летию со дня убийства журналистки, много лет освещавшей войну в Чечне и нарушения прав человека.

European Parliament Demands Withdrawal of Lawsuit to Ban Opposition Parties in Georgia
Politics
European Parliament Demands Withdrawal of Lawsuit to Ban Opposition Parties in Georgia
7 October 2026

In a draft resolution, the European Parliament has called on Georgian authorities to immediately withdraw the constitutional lawsuit seeking to ban opposition parties. The document is set for a vote on October 8, following a debate on the country's political situation taking place in Strasbourg on October 7.

On Putin’s birthday, Kadyrov speaks of the
Politics
On Putin’s birthday, Kadyrov speaks of the "special significance" of his name for Chechnya
7 October 2026

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov congratulated Vladimir Putin on his birthday and stated that the Russian president's name holds "special significance" for the Chechen people. According to Kadyrov, the region will "never forget" the support Putin extended to his father—Chechnya’s first president, Akhmat-Khadzhi Kadyrov—"at a time when the future of the Chechen Republic depended on the decisions being made."

Russia urged to prosecute those who ordered Anna Politkovskaya’s murder
Human rights
Russia urged to prosecute those who ordered Anna Politkovskaya’s murder
7 October 2026

On the 20th anniversary of the murder of Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya, representatives of 32 countries called on the Russian authorities to identify everyone involved in the crime and end pressure on independent media.

The statement was issued by the Media Freedom Coalition. It was signed by representatives of the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Ukraine, Australia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Chile, Japan, Spain and other countries.