Liquidation of the “Alushta” Muslim community: how the russian federation destroys freedom of religion in Crimea  

The community, which was a spiritual home for many Crimean Tatars for over 25 years, was liquidated by the decision of the occupation authorities. In October 2024, something happened in Crimea that human rights activists had been fearfully expecting, given the long-term systemic pressure on the community: The “Supreme Court” of Crimea, at the request of the occupation Ministry of Justice, decided to liquidate the “Alushta” Muslim community. In their lawsuit, the occupiers allege repeated and gross violations of russian legislation by the Muslim community. However, can the accusations really be grounds for the liquidation of a religious community? We would like to discuss this in detail in the CrimeaSOS article.

In order to eliminate the independent Muslim community “Alushta”, the occupiers referred to the russian legislation, which is a violation of international law. In addition, russian legislation is often designed to legitimize repression, creating legal grounds for the persecution of individual groups or communities that do not conform to state policy. In particular, this is evident in cases involving religious communities, where laws allow the suppression of independent organizations under the pretext of violating formal norms. Vague formulations such as “extremist activities” allow for arbitrary interpretation of actions of any organization. There is also a difficulty in meeting legal requirements, as the huge number of bureaucratic requirements (re-registration, reports, inspections) makes their implementation virtually impossible, while minor violations are grounds for fines or liquidation. Such a legislative framework creates perfect conditions for selective justice. 

Therefore, the application of the following norms of russian legislation to cases that did not pose any threat led to the liquidation of the “Alushta” Muslim community:   

• Dissemination of materials by a religious organization without indicating its official full name (p. 3, art. 5.26 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the russian federation). In the spring of 2021, after inspecting the “Yukhari-Jami” mosque, russian security forces seized unmarked books to check for extremist literature. Thus, three books on the topic of family and business in Islam were the reason why the “court” fined the “Alushta” community RUB 30 thousand. It should be noted that those books were not banned and were freely available on the market.  
• Carrying out religious activities in violation of religious legislation (p. 4, art. 5.26 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the russian federation). In June 2021, the occupation court fined the imam of the “Alushta” community, Yusuf Ashirov, under this article because he allegedly carried out missionary activities in the premises of the “Yukhari-Jami” mosque, which he did not have the right to use. The occupiers transferred the “Yukhari-Jami” mosque for free use to the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Crimea, which they control. In the “court”, 6 people testified in favour of Ashirov – that he was not engaged in missionary activities, since he did not have his own teachings, different from those professed by the Crimean Tatars. However, none of the defence arguments were taken into account by the occupation court. 
• Untimely execution of the order of the supervisory authority (p. 1, art. 19.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the russian federation). At the end of 2020, the Department of the Ministry of Justice of the russian federation in the occupied Crimea twice sent warnings to the “Alushta” community about the need to provide documents confirming the legality of staying in the “Yukhari-Jami” mosque, or documents confirming the change of address. However, such information was not provided within the established deadline for objective reasons. Community representatives have repeatedly stated that it was impossible to hold a general meeting, which was necessary to resolve the issue of changing the address, due to restrictions imposed by the occupation authorities in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. The statement about the need to involve a translator was also ignored, and the subsequent failure to appear for the protocol was regarded as evasion, although in fact this could have been part of the difficulties created by the occupation authorities themselves. As stated in the decision of the “Supreme Court” of Crimea, an administrative protocol was drawn up against the “Alushta” community for failure to provide information within the established deadline. According to clause 9 of article 8 of the Federal Law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations”, repeated failure by a religious organization to provide the updated data is grounds for the supervisory body to apply to the court with a demand to terminate the activities of such an organization.  
• Storage of extremist materials (art. 20.29 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the russian federation). During searches in houses of community members on November 23, 2023, employees of the Centre for Countering Extremism discovered books that were included in the Federal List of Extremist Materials and allegedly posed a threat. These were two volumes of the publication “Historical Fates of the Crimean Tatars” and two more books that were in free book circulation. After that, the occupation court fined the “Alushta” community RUB 100 thousand.  
• Demonstration of extremist symbols (p. 1 art. 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the russian federation). In May 2020, the occupation court fined Ruslan Emirvaliiev, the then head of the “Alushta” Muslim community, one thousand rubles for posting an image on social media with the inscription “There is no deity but Allah Almighty, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah”, which the occupiers regarded as a demonstration of Hizb ut-Tahrir symbols. In November 2023, an occupation court arrested community member Vilen Useinov for 10 days for a similar “offense” . At the same time, another community member, Zinur Appazov, was arrested for 5 days for a video clip with the flag of the Congress of the Peoples of Ichkeria and Dagestan.  
• The presence among the founders and members of the “Alushta” Muslim community of a person in whose actions the “court” established signs of extremist activity (subparagraph 4, paragraph 1.2, art. 15 of the Federal Law “On Non-Profit Organizations”, p. 3, art. 9 of the Federal Law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations”). The “Supreme Court” of Crimea also referred to the fact that former imam Ruslan Emirvaliiev and community members Vilen Useinov and Zinur Appazov were brought to administrative liability under the article about the demonstration of extremist symbols, and earlier the head Lenur Khalilov and member of the revision community Ruslan Mesutov were sentenced to 18 years in prison for allegedly organizing the activities of Hizb ut-Tahrir. We would like to remind you that Hizb ut-Tahrir operates legally in Ukraine and could operate in Crimea before the occupation. The organization operates in most European countries but has been recognized as extremist in the russian federation since 2003. There is no evidence that the 117 people who were persecuted in Crimea for alleged involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir committed terrorist acts. 

The “Supreme Court” of Crimea concluded that the above-mentioned “offenses” were repeated and gross, which provided grounds for the liquidation of the “Alushta” Muslim community in accordance with Article 44 of the Federal Law “On Public Associations” and Part 2 of Article 14 of the Federal Law “On Freedom of Conscience and on Religious Associations”. However, the absurdity of the accusations, the blatant disregard for the defence’s “testimony” during the so-called “trial” indicate a purposeful repressive policy of the occupation authorities in Crimea. At the same time, the norms of international humanitarian law oblige the occupying state to comply with the laws that were in force in the territory before its occupation. In particular, Article 43 of the Regulations concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land to the Fourth Hague Convention obliges the occupying power to ensure public order and safety in the occupied territory, “respecting, unless absolutely prevented, the laws in force in the country”. Article 64 of the Fourth Geneva Convention adds that the occupying power has no right to extend its criminal law to the occupied territory except in cases where this is necessary for the fulfilment of its international obligations, the maintenance of order or security.   

It follows from this that russia, as an occupying power, is obliged to ensure religious life in accordance with Ukrainian legislation that was in force before the occupation. Instead, the russian authorities are implementing their legislation to suppress independent religious communities, such as the “Alushta” Muslim community. This directly violates the norms of international law, since such actions are aimed not at ensuring order, but at ensuring total control over the religious life of the peninsula.  Lawyer Rustem Kiamiliev, who defended the interests of the “Alushta” community in the “court”, believes that the persecution of the community was caused by the fact that it did not submit to the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Crimea, which was controlled by the occupiers, and administrative offenses were only a formal basis for liquidation.  

Thus, the liquidation of the “Alushta” Muslim community is not only a violation of international humanitarian law, but also a deliberate interference by the russian federation in freedom of religion in the occupied Crimea. This case clearly demonstrates the occupiers’ desire to control all religious organizations and prevent the activities of those that remain independent. 

Before the occupation of the peninsula in 2014, the “Alushta” Muslim community operated without any objections from the Ukrainian authorities. Since its establishment in 1995, the community has autonomously conducted religious activities in the “Yukhary-Jami” mosque in Alushta. For about 15 years, this mosque was in free use by the community, its activities did not cause any conflicts or legal claims.  

However, after the occupation of the peninsula, the russian authorities began changing their approach to religious life, in particular, they decided to transfer the “Alushta” community under the control of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Crimea, which is subordinate to the occupiers. The relationship between the community and this body has always been complex: the muftiate tried to impose its own rules, appoint imams, and unify religious life, while the community sought to maintain its independence. The situation was complicated by the mufti’s close cooperation with russian special services, which effectively deprived the community of freedom of action and became a pretext for further persecution. In addition, after the occupation of Crimea, the “Alushta” Muslim community was re-registered in accordance with russian legislation. Crimean human rights activists say that there is no doubt that the community acted legally, which is also confirmed by the fact of re-registration. The made-up offenses were only a formal basis for the liquidation of the “Alushta”.

Since 2019, russia has launched a series of criminal prosecutions against members of the “Alushta” religious community. In June 2019, the first wave of searches took place, resulting in the detention of 2 Crimean Tatars – Ruslan Mesutov and community head Lenur Khalilov. They were sentenced to 18 years in prison for alleged “involvement in the activities of the Hizb ut-Tahrir organization”. 

The case of the “Alushta” community is only part of a larger picture. After the occupation of Crimea, the russian federation has been systematically destroying religious communities that were not subject to its control. The ban on the activities and recognition of the “Jehovah’s Witnesses” an extremist organization, the destruction and seizure of temples of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the arrests of religious figures – all this demonstrates a purposeful policy.  

For authoritarian regimes such as russia’s, control over religious communities is critically important, as religious centres can be a place of civic activism and a source of moral authority. Independent religious organizations can become a platform for resistance or alternative ideologies, which poses a threat to a regime that seeks total control over society. That is why, since 2014, the occupation authorities have sought to destroy any centres of faith that did not obey them. This is especially true for the Crimean Tatar community, as russia’s liquidation of religious communities is aimed at undermining the national identity of the Crimean Tatars, as religion is an important component of their culture. 

In early March this year, Ukraine submitted evidence of crimes committed by the russian federation against religious groups in the occupied Crimea to the International Criminal Court. However, russia continues to pressure and persecute religious communities. The destruction of religious communities is not only a violation of international law, but also evidence of the russian federation’s attempts to erase the spiritual and cultural identity of Ukrainian Crimea. It is important that international organizations and governments of other countries continue to put pressure on the russian federation, impose sanctions against individuals involved in religious oppression, and demand the restoration of the rights of religious communities and freedom of religion in the occupied Crimea, including for the “Alushta” Muslim community.