The Final Statement
‘A security officer told my parents, “We’re taking revenge on you for the past.”’
World, tremble! The 21st century is an era of continued scientific and technological progress! And what do we see? People are persecuted and imprisoned solely for their views on life, for thinking differently. Has thinking itself become forbidden? Is it a crime? Humanity has already conquered space. There are plans to colonise Mars, and perhaps other planets as well. But maybe we should first learn how to live on Earth? All the achievements of modern civilisation are worth nothing while a modern-day Inquisition exists, waging war on books and thinkers. This is a road to nowhere. Do not expect progress under such policies.
Today, before the eyes of the entire international community, an attempt is being made to crush the Crimean Tatar people for their steadfastness, free thinking, and firm adherence to their religion–Islam. Any form of activism is being stamped out, even though activism is essential to preserving the people and their identity. Attempts to destroy us have been going on for 250 years, beginning with Catherine II’s annexation of Crimea. The realities of life in Crimea today, shaped by Russia’s policy of terror and repression, have added further wounds to our collective memory and reopened those that had not yet healed since the events of 1944.
Let us be frank. Before 2014, there were no terrorists or extremists in Crimea–they were not even talked about. And then, suddenly, they appeared overnight? These are alien concepts to my people. They simply do not fit us. We have always defended our rights peacefully. My people are builders, not destroyers. When they returned to Crimea, they settled deserted areas, improved them, and filled them with children’s voices, bringing life to places that had once been lifeless. Yet today you declare us guilty without a crime. Naturally, my people are hurt when attempts are made to portray their sons as criminals who have done nothing wrong. This is why the people support them. Terrorists and extremists would not enjoy such support, especially when so many are afraid to express their solidarity for fear of repression. The lies have failed. It is obvious that my people are being intimidated through night-time raids on peaceful homes. Masked security officers, armed to the teeth, burst in, terrifying children, the elderly, and wives, and depriving families of their breadwinners–honourable men who support their households.
My home was raided twice: first, they came for me, and then for my brother. At the time, my wife, our three young children–the youngest not yet two years old–and my two elderly parents were at home. I ask: why storm a peaceful home by sending an entire army of security personnel from the FSB and OMON? My young children witnessed it all and had to endure it twice. And then there is the court, which supposedly cares about the psychological well-being of our children. These children travelled 700 kilometres from Crimea to Rostov, hoping to see their fathers, but the court refused to let them attend the hearings, claiming that seeing their fathers in a cage would traumatise them. This astonishes me. Did anyone care about their psychological well-being when security officers burst into our homes in the middle of the night, while our children were sleeping peacefully? More than 200 children have been left without their breadwinners and caregivers, terrified by the security forces. The trauma has left a deep mark on their innocent souls.
During one of the searches of my home, a security officer pointed his weapon at my elderly parents and said: ‘We are taking revenge on you for the past. The time will come when we will shoot every one of you!’ My mother was stunned by what she had heard. She said: ‘He is young enough to be my son, yet look at the hatred in that young man’s eyes!’ So tell me: who harbours hatred, and who is inciting ethnic hostility? This is what revanchism truly looks like! Why did the security officers standing nearby not stop him and hold him accountable? The fifth issue of the 1968 publication A Chronicle of Current Events contains an appeal to the Crimean Tatar people by Police Lieutenant Colonel Pazin: ‘If tomorrow we are ordered to shoot you, we will shoot you.’ Has history not repeated itself?
We could also recall the people who have disappeared without a trace, the numerous acts of repression against those deemed undesirable, the threats and torture used to force my compatriots into making statements for fabricated criminal cases, and those who were brutally tortured and killed. This is Crimea since 2014. This is how policy is implemented in Crimea today: fear is used to control society. People are afraid to express their opinions or even discuss them, because a private conversation at home can easily land you in prison. Pointing out a crime committed by the authorities has itself become a ‘crime’.
They are trying to impose a single, unquestionable point of view on us: how we should practise our religion, which books we may read and which are forbidden. In this way, they establish censorship and dictatorship. They want to mould us into a generation of slaves who silently accept every injustice around them or directed against them. We are not accustomed to living this way! And the moment we tell the world about the lawlessness taking place, a fresh wave of repression immediately descends upon us.
Victims recall with horror the torture inflicted in unofficial detention facilities in Chechnya and Dagestan, especially the use of electric shocks to extract confessions or force people to incriminate others. I will not presume to judge how guilty these people are; they are being tried in these same courts, and you know this very well. Surely you will agree that under torture a person will confess to every crime in the world, even the assassination of Kennedy, despite the fact that the dates do not match. Why has the use of electric shocks, rather than the law, become the security forces’ weapon of choice? What has happened to the presumption of innocence and the rule of law? Who, then, are the real criminals?
Moreover, the entire fight against terrorism in the Russian Federation has been reduced to statistics. Security officers receive promotions ahead of schedule, bonuses, and awards for achieving high figures. It is like the well-known story about a ship infested with rats. The captain wondered how to get rid of them and came up with a plan: pay the sailors for every rat they caught. Do you think the rats disappeared? I imagine you have guessed the answer: not only did they remain, but the sailors began breeding them. The same thing happens in Russia. When enormous amounts of public money are allocated to fighting terrorism, and no guilty parties can be found, they are simply appointed or invented. It is the age-old witch hunt, a vicious circle with no end. As Vasily Nemchinov’s fellow statistician, academician Strumilin, is quoted as saying: ‘Better to stand up for high economic indicators than to sit in prison for low ones.’ This is how all government agencies operate, including the security services.
Looking deeper, one can see that in Russia the security services are driven by an agenda against Islam. How else can one explain the banning of the works of great Islamic scholars, such as al-Bukhari? The clearest example was the ban on Elmir Kuliev’s Russian translation of the Quran. The ban was lifted only after public pressure.
Let us recall how, not so long ago, schools in Stavropol banned women from wearing headscarves–the hijab. In Islam, wearing a headscarf is a commandment from the Almighty. It is therefore a traditional part of Islamic practice, and anyone who bans it replaces a genuine Islamic tradition with notions of their own invention. It is now clear who is doing this and who is trying to blame those who would never engage in such practices.
As for Islamic organisations banned in Russia, the accusations of terrorism and extremism levelled against them, including Hizb ut-Tahrir, are politically or economically motivated and nothing more. This is also the conclusion reached in an expert report by Daniil Anatolyevich Radivilov, Candidate of Historical Sciences and senior researcher, who is himself a graduate of Russia’s educational system, including St Petersburg State University. Any expert who is not beholden to the authorities would agree with him. Even Radivilov himself raises legitimate questions: ‘Why are the same words perceived as calls for violence when spoken by Muslims who have no ties to the officially recognised Islamic organisations, such as one of the Spiritual Directorates of Muslims of the Russian Federation? Does this mean that Russia has a monopoly on the interpretation of the Quran–the Muslims’ Holy Scripture–and that only representatives of Muslim organisations whose activities have been authorised by the state are entitled to interpret it?’
Here are some more paradoxes. Russia hosted a gathering of the Taliban, a movement designated as a terrorist organisation in Russia, and according to media reports, the ‘organiser’ of this gathering was Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. More recently, the St Petersburg International Economic Forum was held with the participation of the Taliban, which is banned in Russia and designated as a terrorist organisation. Russia even has a permanent representative office of the Taliban, an organisation that is banned in the country and designated as terrorist. Is this a play on words or reality? Is this not a double standard?
Like those who came before us, we have tried to appeal to the judges’ reason and conscience, urging them to put an end to this lawlessness and repression. But I doubt that we have been heard. At the same time, none of this has been in vain. Once again, the whole world has seen that we, the Crimean Tatars, the Muslims of Crimea, use words rather than violence to make our case. We believe that reason will prevail. We will not give up. By the will of the Lord of all worlds, we will continue our peaceful struggle until every political prisoner returns home to their family and our entire people can feel safe in their native Crimea. The lawlessness that continues in Crimea, as in Russia itself, has no future. Tyranny has no future–the whole of world history bears witness to this. No future can be built on lies and double standards. No future can be built on the tears of children, wives, and mothers deprived of their fathers, husbands, and sons. No future can be built on fear, repression, and terror. These are signs of weakness. It is time to reflect.
O my people, unbroken by years of hardship, patient, devoted to your religion and striving for justice, your history embroidered with golden threads, descendants of the ‘Altyn Devir’ [Golden Age], I am proud to be part of you and admire your wisdom and the sense of responsibility you show in all your affairs. Your centuries-old history bears witness to this. Hold fast to what our righteous ancestors carried through all their hardships–oppression, deportation, and return. It is what made us strong, preserved us, and kept us from breaking today. Islam has been the source of light for all knowledge, respect for elders and parents, compassion towards the young, and kindness towards neighbours. Nothing has been able to turn us away from these values.
By the will of the Almighty, having endured all these trials, we will come to understand the value of what we gain from them and will cherish our heritage all the more in the future.
To everyone who has shown concern and supported us, the political prisoners, and our families, I express my deepest gratitude!
O Lord of all worlds, reunite us soon with our people and our families in peace and well-being, for You are the Almighty! Amen.
23 November 2022
Southern District Military Court, Rostov-on-Don, Russia.
Source: Crimean Solidarity.
More information: Crimean Solidarity.
Photo: Crimean Solidarity.