The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don has handed down guilty verdicts to six Crimean Tatars — defendants in the fifth Bakhchysarai group in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case.
This was reported by the Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, citing the head of the Mejlis, Refat Chubarov.
The court sentenced the men to prison terms ranging from 15 to 19 years in maximum-security penal colonies.
According to the court ruling, Ruslan Asanov was sentenced to 19 years in prison, Remzi Nimetulayev to 18 years, and Seidamet Mustafayev, Ametkhan Umerov, Abdulmedzhit Seitumerov and Eldar Yakubov to 15 years each.
Russian security forces detained the men in August 2023 following searches in Bakhchysarai and the Bakhchysarai district. The defendants rejected the allegations of terrorist activity and stressed the political nature of the persecution on religious and ethnic grounds.
During the proceedings, defence lawyers repeatedly pointed to the use of secret witnesses and questionable expert assessments.