![]() Since Russia illegally seized Crimea in 2014, Russian authorities have prosecuted dozens of Crimean Tatars on various charges that rights organizations have called trumped up. His lawyer, Aleksei Ladin, said the court's ruling will be appealed.īekirov, Tairov, Murasov, and Abdullayev were detained in August 2021 in Russian-controlled Crimea after their homes were searched. Seytosmanov was also found guilty of participating in the activities of a terrorist organization and preparing for a violent seizure of power. The sentences were announced one week after the same court sentenced Crimean Tatar activist Ernes Seytosmanov to 18 years in prison on terrorism charges for his involvement in the Hizb ut-Tahrir movement. "Violence and repression cannot be the answer to the right to express one's beliefs and protect one's identity," the ministry said on its website. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said the "falsified and worthless" sentences show that Russia is resorting to all kinds of crimes in the temporarily occupied territories with the aim of destroying centers of freedom of thought and religion that are not under the control of its punitive bodies. The court also added a year and a half of restrictions to Bekirov to be served after his release and a year of restrictions for the others, also to be served after their release, Crimean Solidarity said. ![]() The other three - Zaur Abdullayev, Rustem Murasov, and Rustem Tairov - received 12 years each on the same charges, according to the Crimean Solidarity group on May 31.Īll four will spend the first four years of their sentences in prison and the remainder in a maximum-security penal colony. One of the four men, Dzhebbar Bekirov, received a 17-year prison sentence for his work with Hizb ut-Tahrir, which has been banned by Russia as a terrorist organization since 2003 but remains legal in Ukraine, and for preparing for the seizure of power. Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio FardaĪ court in Russia's southwestern city of Rostov-on-Don has sentenced four Crimean Tatar activists to lengthy prison sentences for organizing and participating in the activities of the Islamic political organization Hizb ut-Tahrir. Human rights activists say authorities in Iran are using the executions to try to instill fear in society rather than to combat crime. The signatories cited the abuse of national sovereignty principles by the Islamic republic to justify widespread executions, resulting in limited global capacity to prevent these inhuman actions effectively. Responding to the worrying trend, six prominent legal scholars and an Iranian human rights lawyer penned a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to express their grave concern over the escalating number of executions in Iran. Legal experts have decried the imposition of the death penalty for the charge of "waging war against God," a crime often applied to political dissidents. Last November, Mohseni-Ejei's defense of the execution of Mohsen Shekari, a young protester accused of waging war against God for "closing a street and injuring a Basij paramilitary member," has been met with fierce criticism. He did not elaborate, but Iranian officials have consistently blamed the West for the demonstrations - the biggest threat to the Islamic government since the 1979 revolution - and have vowed to continue to crack down hard on protesters. ![]() Mohseni-Ejei characterized the civil resistance against mandatory hijab, which has been led by Iranian women, as a "challenge of chastity and hijab" while claiming that such resistance has been influenced by the "hand of the enemy." ![]() The human rights group named the seven as Ebrahim Naroui, Kambiz Kharot, Manochehr Mehmannavaz, Mansoreh Dehmardeh, Mohammad Ghabadlo, Mujahed (Abbas) Korkor, and Shoaib Mirbaluchzehi Rigi. Iran has so far executed at least seven protesters, sparking outrage among rights activists and many Western governments who have called the legal proceedings against the accused "sham" trials where proper representation is not always granted and decisions are rushed behind closed doors.Īmnesty International in a recent report warned about the imminent execution risk of seven more detainees from the protests. ![]() In a speech delivered on May 30, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei stated that the sentences for those who "should be executed" will be carried out without exception "while maintaining legal standards and fairness." The head of Iran’s judiciary has staunchly defended issuing death sentences for several demonstrators involved in nationwide protests that erupted in September 2022 following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini soon after she was detained by morality police for allegedly violating the mandatory hijab law. ![]()
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