Relatives say Crimean Tatars who were detained in Yalta were taken to the FSB
On the morning of April 18th, in the village Krasnokamianka (Big Yalta), two local residents were detained - Refat Alimov and Arsen Dzhepparov. They are currently being interrogated by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in Simferopol.
The relatives of the detainees said this to Krym.Realii, commenting on the situation.
"At the moment, Refat Alimov’s relatives and I are near the FSB. At this time, we do not understand what is happening or what we should expect," the sister of Arsen Dzhepparov Sussana said.
According to Krym.Realii, the neighbors of the detained said that a group of armed men in masks came into Arsen Dzhepparov's house. During the search, they broke the gate and lock and seized mobile phone of the detained. According to neighbors, security forces did not introduce themselves and, for a long time, did not want to say where Arsen Dzhepparov was being taken.
According to his neighbors, a computer and a book of religious content were seized at the home of Refat Alimov.
Prior to this, lawyer Emile Kurbedinov reported about the new search in Krasnokamianka on April 18th and the arrest of two people. After that, the Russian-controlled Prosecutor of Crimea, Natalia Poklonskaya, announced the arrest of two people in Yalta allegedly linked to "Hizb ut-Tahrir."
According to the media in Alushta, two buses with police and OMON riot police drove into Partenit to check passports on the morning of April 18th.
Last weekend it was reported that another police raid was held in the village Zelenohir'ya of Alushta district of Crimea.
On February 11th and 12th of this year, Russian security forces conducted a series of searches and arrests in the homes of Muslims in Crimea. A total of 14 people were detained, four of them arrested: a member of the Contact Group on Human Rights from Yalta, Emir-Usein Kuku, a resident of Yalta district Anvar Bakirov, a resident of Alushta district Muslim Aliyev and Yalta resident Vadim Siruk. FSB investigators accused them of participating in sру activities of the organization "Hizb ut-Tahrir." All four are now in custody in Simferopol prison.