Yashar Shikhametov, a defendant in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case, has been transferred to Penal Colony No. 37 in Kemerovo region. This was reported by Crimean Solidarity.
The Crimean Tatar man was taken to the colony at the end of June. Before that, he had served four years of his sentence in Balashov prison (Saratov region).
Shikhametov was detained in February 2021 after searches in several districts of Crimea. In September 2022, he was convicted under the article on participation in a terrorist organisation (part 2, article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code)—Hizb ut-Tahrir—and sentenced to 11 years in prison, with the first four years to be served in prison.
According to law enforcement, while working as a cook in a café, the man carried out “ideological work,” participating in banned meetings and recruiting new members. Police claimed that he allegedly “carried out ideological propaganda in a whisper,” making it difficult to record his words on audio.
During the hearing for his appeal in December 2023, Shikhametov felt unwell and was carried out of the courtroom on a stretcher, as he could hardly walk due to serious back problems. Before the session, he had complained to his lawyer of increasing heart and kidney pain and that the medicines were not helping. For the cassation hearing in autumn 2024, he was brought in on a gurney. His lawyer said the man has problems with his kidneys, spine and liver. In April 2025, Shikhametov was hospitalised.
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