THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
For russia, which is waging a criminal war in Ukraine, even a Muslim prayer, a person’s conversation with God, is a crime. This is evidenced by the fact that a citizen journalist from Crimea, Remzi Bekirov, who was illegally sentenced in russia to 19 years in prison, is not allowed to pray in russian Colony 33 in Abakan. His lawyer told journalists from the websites Crimean Solidarity and Krym.Realii (a project of Radio Liberty).
The Crimean is currently in harsh prison conditions (HPC), where he was placed in November 2024. The HPC section was located on the second floor of the building, where there was a “blind zone” for a video camera, which allowed Muslim prisoners to pray secretly. But in December, HPC premises were moved to another place on the first floor. The convicts “prayed there for a while, then mass detentions in the Penal Cell began,” the defense attorney said.
Remzi Bekirov filed a lawsuit against the colony, challenging his transfer to the Penal Cell for praying. However, the russian court decided that the Crimean’s actions “violated the daily routine,” after which a second cell was installed in the HPC, and there were no blind spots.
“If earlier he was sent to the Penal Cell for praying standing, now he is sent there even if he prays sitting. They do not allow him to pray [prayer] in any way,” Bekirov’s wife Khalide noted.
According to Crimean Solidarity, the pressure on Remzi Bekirov began after he moved to Colony 33 in Abakan. He was regularly placed in the Penal Cell for formal reasons: he prayed at night, did not greet an employee, and did not wear a hat.
As earlier reported, Remzi Bekirov is a civilian journalist who conducted streams of searches and trials in politically motivated cases against residents of Crimea, including the case of the veteran of the Crimean Tatar national movement, Vedzhi Kashka, the detention of the UOC priest Kliment, the “cases of Crimean Muslims” and others. Remzi Bekirov is the initiator of the idea of collective assistance to the families of Crimean political prisoners. He has three minor children. Remzi Bekirov reports that the rights of Muslim prisoners are violated in russian colonies. In March 2019, russian security forces conducted searches in the homes of Crimean Tatar activists in Crimea, in particular representatives of the public association Crimean Solidarity. A total of 24 people were detained, including civilian journalists Osman Arifmemetov, Rustem Sheikhaliyev, and Remzi Bekirov. On March 27 and 28, 2019, a russian court in Simferopol arrested all those detained. On March 10, 2022, it was reported that a judge at the russian Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Remzi Bekirov to 19 years in prison.
The Human Rights Center Memorial has recognized 24 Crimean Tatar activists detained by russian security forces in Crimea on March 27, 2019, as political prisoners.
The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) and human rights organizations are calling for the release of Remzi Bekirov due to his illegal conviction and harsh prison conditions.
NUJU Information Service
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