Expanding the Zone of Repression
The Persecution of Hizb-ut-Tahrir Supporters in Russia
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
In Russia, almost 300 people have been sentenced to long prison terms as supporters of the Islamist movement Hizb-ut-Tahrir. Since 2003, this movement has been classified as a terrorist organisation. Those who have been convicted are Tatars and Bashkirs, Crimean Tatars from the occupied peninsula, and migrants from Central Asia. The trials show all the hallmarks of political persecution. The courts are controlled by the FSB (the secret police), and convictions do not require any proof that a defendant committed or planned a terrorist attack or anything of the sort. Acquittals are almost impossible. Institutions of repression have used the terrorism paragraph to expand their power more and more. In the meantime, supporters have come to those who have been prosecuted as victims of repression on the basis of religious and nationality.
(Osteuropa 1-3/2024, pp. 249–266)