“According to the court, on the charge of alleged involvement in the Hizb ut-Tahrir organization, the defendants were sentenced to 14 to 19 years in prison”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
According to the court report, activist Enver Krosh was sentenced to 19 years in prison, Edem Bekirov and Rinat Aliyev – 15 years each, journalist Vilen Temeryanov – 14 years, and Seityaz Abbozov – 14 years, on charges of alleged involvement in the Hizb ut-Tahrir organization. The court also determined that Enver Krosh will serve the first 4 years in prison, and the remaining part of the term in a high-security prison. The court sentenced the remaining participants to three years in prison and further serving the term in a colony.
According to “Crimean Solidarity”, Abbozov was taken into custody in the hall of the Crimean Garrison Military Court controlled by the Russian Federation, from where he participated in the trial via video conference. The Crimean was under house arrest from the day of his arrest.
“I declare my non-involvement in terrorism and seizure of power. Moreover, I consider it completely absurd to understand all this, losing so much time. As far as I was able to convey my right to the court, I think this is enough, if the court is objective. When you pass a sentence, know: you pass it not only to us, but first of all to our mothers, wives, children. I’m not pushing for pity, I’m just describing reality. Whatever the outcome, I have learned to rely on the Almighty,” said Enver Krosh, speaking with the last word in court.
At the stage of the last word of the defendants, Enver Krosha’s lawyer, Emil Kurbedinov, in a conversation with “Crimean Solidarity”, noted that none of the participants in the case and their defenders “expect a fair solution to such a politicized criminal trial.”
On the morning of August 11, 2022, mass searches of Crimean Tatar activists took place in Dzhankoya and Dzhankoya district of Crimea, lawyers were not allowed to participate in the investigation, they reported that their mobile communications had been disconnected. Six men – Vilen Temeryanov, Enver Krosh, Seitaya Abbozov, Murat Mustafayev, Edem Bekirov and Rinat Aliyev – were detained by Russian security forces on charges of participation in Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is banned in Russia but allowed in most other countries.
According to the defense, the main evidence in this criminal case is an audio recording of a conversation in a mosque from 2015. Emil Kurbedinov is sure that it was extracted from the FSB archives eight years later. “All these years, these people were not criminally prosecuted and did not pose any danger to society,” says the defense attorney.
During the judicial investigation, neither the lawyers nor the clients were given the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the materials that the court sent for examination. Also, during this period, no plans were established on the part of the accused Crimean Tatar activists to commit a terrorist act or other violent actions.