Russia: Crimean Tatar human rights defender Emir-Usein Kuku must not be tried in a military court

Amnesty International is attending the court hearing and spokespeople are available for interview

Russia must cancel plans to try Crimean Tatar human rights defender Emir-Usein Kuku in a military court, drop all terrorism charges he faces and grant his immediate release, Amnesty International said ahead of the start of Kuku"s trial in Rostov-on-Don on 14 February.

"The case of Emir-Usein Kuku, who is falsely accused of being a member of an alleged 'terrorist' organisation in Crimea, epitomizes the fate of Crimean Tatar activists in the Russia-occupied peninsula. Held on spurious 'terrorism' charges, Kuku had been detained multiple times before his arrest on 12 February 2016, and his house was repeatedly searched. His wife and nine-year-old son were harassed and intimidated by Russian secret service agents when he was already behind bars," said Maria Guryeva, Media Officer of Amnesty International Ukraine.

"The criminal prosecution of Emir-Usein Kuku on trumped up, baseless terrorism charges must end and he should be granted an immediate and unconditional release."

Background

Emir-Usein Kuku, a Crimean Tatar activist and human rights defender, was taken from his home in Koreiz, Crimea, on 11 February 2016 and formally arrested the next day on charges of "participating in the activities of a terrorist organization" and "attempted forcible seizure of power". He was accused of being a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamist movement that is banned as a "terrorist" group in Russia, but is not illegal in Ukraine. Kuku denies any involvement with the movement. Emir Usein Kuku is only one of many Crimean Tatar activists that have been arrested or forced to leave the country after the Russian occupation of the peninsula in 2014 which the Crimean Tatar minority has largely opposed.

In addition, Amnesty International considers that the jurisdiction of military courts over criminal cases should be limited to trials of military personnel for breaches of military discipline and should not have jurisdiction to try civilians, owing to the nature of these courts and because of concerns about their independence and impartiality.