List of persecuted Hizb ut-Tahrir members
- 1List of persecuted Hizb ut-Tahrir members
We are trying to put together the most exhaustive list of people imprisoned on charges of involvement in the Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami, which has been declared a terrorist organisation in Russia.
About the people on the list
Like Memorial Human Rights Center did in the past, the Human Rights Project “Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial” considers the 2003 decision of the Russian Supreme Court to recognise Hizb ut-Tahrir as a terrorist organisation to be illegal and unfounded. The decision does not contain any evidence of Hizb ut-Tahrir’s terrorist activities, but in recent years hundreds of Muslims have been convicted on charges of involvement in this organisation, and each year they have been given increasingly harsh sentences.
In annexed Crimea, the persecution of Hizb ut-Tahrir members is a tool to suppress public solidarity and civic activism of local residents, especially Crimean Tatars (with few exceptions, those accused of involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir belong to this ethnic group). In 2014, they negatively perceived the annexation of the peninsula and have been persecuted ever since. In Ukraine, the activities of Hizb ut-Tahrir are absolutely legal. It is important to emphasise that both the criminal prosecution itself and the detention of Crimeans outside Crimea blatantly violate the norms of international humanitarian law.
According to our data, as of March 11, 2024, at least 320 people are being prosecuted for involvement with Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami.
271 of them have been convicted: 130 received sentences of 10 to 15 years, 115 received sentences of 15 years or more.
At least 35 are under investigation or are being tried in court.
At least 24 people are wanted.
We have no information about the exact status of one more person.
In addition, 73 people have already been released after serving their sentences, one person was released from serving his sentence for health reasons, one person died in custody, and one person had charges against him dropped.
In total, “Memorial” recognized 289 persons accused of involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami as political prisoners (238 of them are currently being prosecuted, 54 of them were released after serving their sentences, 1 person died). The recognition of other defendants as political prisoners will be addressed as the procedural documents on their cases are received.