Crimean political prisoner Refat Alimov was released after 8 years of imprisonment

Crimean Tatar Refat Alimov, a figure in the Yalta case "Hizb ut-Tahrir";, sentenced to 8 years as a political prisoner, was released.

This was reported by lawyer Edem Semedlyaev, reports the human rights organization "Crimean Solidarity".

"Now, first of all, I want to see my relatives and friends. I missed them very much. I want to rest, undergo treatment, and examination. And then I think about getting a job. For the last eight years, my mother has been struggling alone thanks to our people, they helped her while I was in prison. Now we have to go out and start working. It is necessary to help others who find themselves in such a situation," said Alimov, quoted by Suspilne.

Lawyer Semedlyaev went to the city of Salavat of the Republic of Bashkortostan to meet Alimov.

"Today another political prisoner, our friend, our brother, was released. Eight years behind bars is, of course, a long time. Of course, he passed this test with dignity, and today we met him. We will take him home, to the Crimea, to relatives and friends. And I hope that in the near future the rest of our fellow political prisoners will also be released," the human rights activist emphasized.

• Alimov was arrested on April 18, 2016 after a search of his house in the village of Krasnokamyanka. His case was combined with the cases of Arsen Jepparov, Muslim Aliyev, Enver Bekirov, Emir-Usein Kuku and Vadym Siruk. They were accused of involvement in the Islamic political organization "Hizb ut-Tahrir" banned in Russia. Human rights activists called them the "Yalta group" in the case of "Hizb ut-Tahrir" — on a geographical basis.
• On November 12, 2019, a final court hearing was held in Rostov-on-Don regarding the participants in the case, at which they were sentenced. The meeting lasted only 14 minutes.
• All defendants were found guilty. Refat Alimov was sentenced to eight years with one year of probation, Muslim Aliyev — 19 years with one year of probation, Enver Bekirov — 18 years with one year of probation, Vadym Siruk — 12 years with one year of probation, Arsen Jepparov — seven years with a one-year restriction of freedom, Emir-Usein Kuk — 12 years with a one-year restriction of freedom.