Occupants in Crimea illegally arrested Crimean Tatar activists and religious figures

The occupation “court” of Simferopol sent five illegally detained residents of Dzhankoi and Dzhankoi region of Crimea to the pre-trial detention facility. The detainees are Enver Khalillaiev, Nariman Ametov, Ali Mamutov, Imam of the Lobanove village mosque Vahid Mustafaiev and activist Arsen Kashka. All the arrested were taken into custody for two months.

“For 10 years, activists, religious figures, and civilian journalists have been persecuted for political and religious reasons. Today in court, the occupiers requested a strict preventive measure, because our defendants can allegedly hide, influence witnesses… This is all just an excuse. Over all these long years, we have made sure that none of the detainees is a criminal,” says lawyer Emil Kurbedinov.

He also added that there are three days to appeal the illegal arrest. The lawyer will send a claim to the so-called “supreme court” in the occupied Crimea.

Moreover, according to the lawyer Safiie Shabanova, the occupation “court” did not take into consideration the documents about the health condition of another detainee – Ali Mamutov, a resident of Dzhankoi region of Crimea. He was also taken into custody until May 4.

As a reminder, in the morning of March 5, security forces searched the homes of 10 Crimean Tatars in the Bakhchysarai and Dzhankoi regions of Crimea. On the same day, the occupation “court” imposed a pre-trial restraint on four of them – Crimean Tatar activists Memet Liumanov, Aziz Azizov, Rustem Osmanov and Mustafa Abduramanov. They were sent to pre-trial detention facility No. 2 until May 4, 2024. All ten arrested are accused of participating in the “case of Crimean Muslims”. Many of the detainees are parents in large families.

Human rights activists consider that this decision was made unjustified, in violation of transparency and equality of the parties, as only the prosecution participated in the closed trial.