Crimean political prisoner released after nine years in Russian colony

Crimean Tatar Remzi Memetov, a political prisoner involved in the "first Bakhchysarai group" case of Hizb ut-Tahrir, has been released after serving his entire nine-year sentence in a Russian penal colony.

The human rights association "Crimean Solidarity" reports this on Facebook.

Memetov was serving his term in colony No. 11 of the city of Stavropol.

"This day has come. Behind me is the colony where I spent more than one year of my life. May the Almighty reward my people, who all this time supported me, and all my relatives, friends, and brothers in the same conditions today.

I cannot find words of gratitude to convey to my people, these heroic people who have all this time supported me. Minim janim, sevgilim dzhematym ["with love and respect" – ed,]," Remzi Memetov commented.

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The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation declared the Islamic political party "Hizb ut-Tahrir" a terrorist organization during a closed court session on February 14, 2003. Human rights activists argue that the court made this decision without foundation and violated principles of transparency and equality, as only the prosecution, specifically, the Federal Security Service, participated in the closed trial.

Representatives of the organization could not convey their position on the case. At the same time, in the territory of Ukraine and most countries, the organization operates without restrictions at the level of national legislation.

Notably, Remzi Memetov, along with three other Crimean Tatars, was arrested on May 12, 2016, in Bakhchysarai. At that time, cook Memetov, businessman Enver Mamutov, dentist Zevri Abseitov, and carpenter Rustem Abiltarov were charged with participating in a terrorist organization.

On December 24, 2018, the Southern District Military Court sentenced Memetov, Abiltarov, and Abseitov to nine years in prison, while Mamutov received a 17-year sentence. On July 11, 2019, the Supreme Court of Russia reduced each of their sentences by three months.