In Dagestan, defendant accused of involvement in "Hizb ut-Tahrir" recognized by HRC "Memorial" as political prisoner

The Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" has demanded to release activist Khiramagomed Magomedov, one of the leaders of the NGO "Union of Fair", accused of involvement in the organization "Hizb ut-Tahrir al Islami" banned in Russia. The human rights defenders believe there is no information that the organization is involved in at least one terror act and that is why there are no grounds to prosecute its members.

According to the HRC "Memorial", Khiramagomed Magomedov is charged at once under five Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. He is also accused of trying to involve a policeman in his actions aimed at forcible seizure of power, as well as of carrying a combat pistol with cartridges.

The human rights believe that the investigators see the crime in the fact that Khiramagomed Magomedov took part in rallies, studied the Koran, the Arabic language, and international politics.

Khiramagomed Magomedov claims that he was kidnapped by unidentified people and that the weapon was planted to him. The HRC "Memorial" notes that the human rights defenders have no proof of the Khiramagomed Magomedov's innocence; however, "his version seems consistent and similar to other cases of planting of prohibited items practiced in Russia and especially in Northern Caucasus."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.