The final statement
‘We are accused of seizing power in the Russian Federation. But, excuse me, when did we personally come to live in the Russian Federation? We lived in Ukraine, and none of us moved to the Russian Federation. The Russian Federation came to us itself. It annexed our homeland Crimea as part of its country. Moreover, it did so illegally. And this is not my personal opinion, but the opinion of the entire international community.‘
I, Belyalov Memet Reshatovich. Resident of Crimea, citizen of Ukraine. Political prisoner. Before I deliver my final statement, I would like to thank all those who came to support me and everyone else. Chok sag oluns (Thank you), may Allah be pleased with you!
I also want to express gratitude to all the people who have supported us throughout these three years with their letters. These are people from various countries: Canada, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, etc., including citizens of the Russian Federation. This means a great deal to us. It helps us stay strong. It gives us confidence that the outcome of all these cases will be just. Even if not within this court. The final result will be full recognition of us and other political prisoners as innocent. Now, regarding what happened during the roughly seventy court sessions in this court.
Our long trial has come to an end. Our final statement in this court has arrived. The last word in court, but not in our struggle. The struggle is not only for our freedom but for justice and the rights of all political prisoners and unlawfully persecuted citizens of Ukraine in Crimea. Today I want to speak about everything we witnessed in this court. I and all other defendants lived peacefully in our historical homeland, Crimea. We all have families. Each of us has a higher education. Each of us succeeded in different areas of life—some in business, and so on. We never thought we would end up in the dock.
But 2014 turned the lives of Ukrainian citizens living in Crimea upside down. Overnight, we found ourselves in another country with different rules. Of course, each of us had heard about the human rights situation in the Russian Federation. But what we experienced is incomparable. Unjustified arrests, abductions, unbearable fines, and other forms of repression against dissenters. Let’s see what the state prosecution wants to accuse us of. According to the investigation, we spread a militant ideology, intolerance towards co-religionists, caused social division, seized power, and changed the constitutional system of the Russian Federation. But let’s look at the facts. We are accused of seizing power in the Russian Federation. But, excuse me, when did we personally come to live in the Russian Federation? We lived in Ukraine, and none of us moved to the Russian Federation. The Russian Federation came to us itself. It annexed our homeland Crimea as part of its country. And it did so illegally. This is not my personal opinion, but the opinion of the entire international community.
Now, let’s look at who suffered from our so-called terrorist activities. No victims were presented to us in court. So, on what basis and for what offenses are we being tried today? It turns out that we are being tried unlawfully, not even based on Russian Federation law, but on a normative legal act. I want to note that this act is illegal, which we have substantiated. Moreover, I want to point out that this act was adopted in 2003 when we lived in another country, were citizens of another country, and Crimea was part of the territory of another country. What do we have to do with it? No one has explained this to us yet. I want to highlight that throughout the court sessions, the presiding judge repeatedly interrupted each speaker, saying that we used expressions in our vocabulary that were inappropriate or insulting. However, what do we actually see in relation to us? From the very beginning of our criminal prosecution, on the same day, federal Russian media in Crimea and throughout Russia showed videos claiming that a terrorist cell was detained and liquidated—illegally because there is no guilty verdict against us yet. No legal assessment was given then. FSB investigator Gramashov, without sanctions or waiting for a court decision, listed us as extremists and terrorists, thus restricting any financial transactions by our relatives under our names.
On what grounds? Again, sweeping accusations without any legal assessment. The state prosecution throughout the trial accused us of allegedly gathering in a mosque, organizing a terrorist cell meeting, causing social division, and being dangerous to society, etc. Again, no legal assessment was given. We hoped someone would provide evidence, but there was none. We did not hear any. We had to endure all this. The court stopped us, saying we crossed the boundaries of decency and used unacceptable expressions. But what did the court dislike?! What was considered unacceptable? Resolutions and positions of the UN, OSCE, EU, and authoritative human rights organizations worldwide that recognized us as innocent and unlawfully persecuted? That the international community recognized Crimea as an occupied territory? That anti-terrorism laws are used to oppress dissent in Crimea? These are not just our words. This assessment was given by the international community, and this is our position, which we have the right to hold. Just as the prosecutor expressed his position.
Speaking of insults, I want to say that the investigation, the FSB, the Crimean prosecutor’s office, the Russian Federation prosecutor’s office, the military prosecutor’s office as state bodies, and the entire Russian Federation insulted the feelings of Muslims. My feelings as a believing Muslim. In our criminal case, religious books were used as evidence of terror and seizure of power: the Quran, the biography of our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the biographies of his noble companions. These books are the heritage of all Muslims, Muslims worldwide. We have read, read, and will continue to read them. To study and live, inspired by the examples from these books. The recognition of these books as ‘ideological-propaganda material,’ as expressed by the prosecutor, is nothing but persecution of Islam. Today, the Russian Federation is not persecuting us, not just eight individuals. Islam is being persecuted in our person.
Therefore, let those who still believe that Russian Federation special services protect Russian citizens from terrorists not deceive themselves. This is self-deception. All the prosecutor’s statements about so-called material evidence, I consider insults to our religion. But let no one deceive themselves who spoke this way about the religion of the Lord. Because all those who did this will undoubtedly be held accountable. Not here, but on Judgment Day before the Lord of the Worlds.
Today, through initiating criminal cases, they want to portray us and other citizens of Crimea, Crimean Muslims, as dangerous terrorists unworthy of freedom. But to our great happiness and regret, those who accuse us cannot convince us or the public present in the courtroom and those suffering in Crimea. Nor can they convince the international community, which clearly stated that we are unlawfully persecuted, unlawfully convicted, and political prisoners. I want to say that the sentences requested by the prosecutor will in no way break us. We do not deceive ourselves that the prosecution will not issue an indictment and convict us anyway. But these sentences do not scare any of us. And one can envy the prosecution’s optimism because they hope we will stay in prison for such long terms. But, God willing, this will not happen. And we, as believers, hope for help from the Lord, not from the court, nor from anyone else. And this help will surely come.
All defendants are accused of membership or organizing activities of ‘Hizb ut-Tahrir,’ which has been banned in Russia since 2003. In Ukraine and most European countries, the organization operates without restrictions at the national legislative level.
Southern Military District Court, Rostov-on-Don, Russia
16 September 2020
Source: Crimean Solidarity.
More information about the case: Memorial.
Photo: Crimean Solidarity