October 7 marks the 20th anniversary of the murder of *Novaya Gazeta* journalist Anna Politkovskaya. While the courts have identified the perpetrators and organizers of the crime, the person who ordered the killing has never been named. The statute of limitations for the case expired in 2021—fifteen years after the murder took place.
The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced 37-year-old Crimean Tatar Ernes Seitosmanov to 18 years in prison. He was found guilty of organizing a branch of the Islamic party Hizb ut-Tahrir, recognized as terrorist in Russia, and preparing to seize power. Earlier, the case of participation in Hizb ut-Tahrir was initiated against his brother Enver. In 2019, he was sentenced to 17 years in prison. In 2016, their second cousin was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
Ernest Seitosmanov attended trials of Crimean Tatars in Crimea and Rostov-on-Don, helped the families of political prisoners, and took part in public initiatives. Lawyer Aleksey Ladin said that during the search Seitosmanov was planted with books of Hizb ut-Tahrir and that a secret witness in court read testimony from a sheet. Another witness for the prosecution spoke about threats of criminal prosecution from the security forces.