Crimean political prisoner Remzi Bekirov has once again been sent to solitary confinement for performing his morning prayers.
The Kremlin captive, Crimean Tatar journalist Remzi Bekirov, sentenced by the occupiers to 19 years in prison, has been sent to a punishment cell (SHIZO) of correctional colony (IK) No. 33 in the Republic of Khakassia for five days for performing the morning prayer.
This was reported to “Crimean Solidarity” by lawyer Edem Semedlyaev.
The human rights defender learned about Bekirov's punishment during a court hearing on January 20. He informed his lawyer that due to Muslim inmates performing prayers in the morning, the administration of the Russian colony placed another five individuals in isolation under the pretext of “violating internal order regulations.”
After being transferred to IK No. 33, Bekirov has already been placed in SHIZO seven times for reading prayers at night or on a towel, failing to greet a prison officer, or not wearing a hat. He was also subjected to strict confinement conditions (SUS) for two months.
In the colony, it is prohibited to approach the bed during the day, and guards attempt to psychologically suppress the political prisoner.
Moreover, the administration of IK No. 33 has never allowed Bekirov to call his family.
Remzi Bekirov is a civil journalist, an activist of “Crimean Solidarity,” and a correspondent for the online publication “Grani.ru.” He conducted streams on politically motivated persecutions against the residents of the peninsula. Additionally, Remzi is the initiator of the idea for collective assistance to the families of Crimean political prisoners.
On March 27, 2019, mass searches took place in Crimea. The investigative actions were conducted in Kamyanka, Strogonovka, and Belyi – villages in the suburbs of Simferopol, predominantly inhabited by Crimean Tatars.
FSB officers detained twenty individuals at that time. Three more were detained in Rostov-on-Don a few days later, and three were declared wanted. Later, two more Crimean Tatars were detained in connection with this case.
Crimean Tatar activists were accused of involvement in the Islamic political party “Hizb ut-Tahrir,” which is recognized as terrorist in Russia but operates without restrictions under the national legislations of many countries worldwide.
The majority of those arrested are members of the human rights organization “Crimean Solidarity.” Shaban Umerev, Remzi Bekirov, Riza Izetov, and Raim Ayvazov were charged under part 1 of Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for organizing the activities of a terrorist organization.
On March 10, 2022, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced the defendants of the fabricated FSB second Simferopol “case of Crimean Muslims” – Crimean journalist Remzi Bekirov, human rights defender Riza Izetov, and activists Shaban Umerev, Farhad Bazarov, and Raim Ayvazov – to imprisonment for a term ranging from 15 to 19 years.
Earlier, ZMINA reported that the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation (FSIN) had already denied Bekirov's transfer from IK No. 33 in the Republic of Khakassia to a colony closer to home for the fifth time.