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The Starorussky District Court in Novgorod region, at the request of the head of local Penal Colony No. 9, has transferred Musa Jalolov, convicted in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case, from a strict-regime colony to a prison. As reported by the regional courts press service, the regional court has upheld this decision.
The first instance court issued this decision back on 6 May.
The colony’s head demanded a harsher regime for Jalolov, as he was recognised as a “malicious violator.” Penal Colony No. 9 claims he committed 229 violations, for which he was given disciplinary punishments.
Jalolov must now spend a year and a half in prison.
In October 2020, the 2nd Western District Military Court sentenced the man to 10 years in a penal colony for participating in the activities of a terrorist organisation (Article 205.5 Part 2 of the Russian Criminal Code) due to his involvement with the Hizb ut-Tahrir party. During the first three years of his sentence, he was to serve time in prison, with the remainder in a strict-regime colony. According to the investigation, Jalolov promoted the organisation and spoke to other Muslims about it, using the pretext of studying Islam.
The Sova Research Centre considers the persecution of Hizb ut-Tahrir members solely for party-related activity—such as holding meetings and reading literature—to be illegitimate, noting that the organisation has not been linked to terrorism.
The Memorial Human Rights Centre recognised Jalolov as a political prisoner. They pointed out that, in the view of the court and the investigators, his participation in a terrorist organisation consisted of holding meetings where believers would read and discuss Hizb ut-Tahrir literature, and inviting new participants to those meetings.
- In 2004, Jalolov was convicted in Tajikistan for his involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir. After his release in 2008, he moved to Russia. Eleven years later, he was detained in St Petersburg on a similar charge of participating in terrorist activities.