Imam is charged with illegal missionary activity

Another Imam (preacher) of the Muslim community in the occupied Crimea was accused of "illegal missionary activity" and an administrative case against him was instituted.

This is reported on Facebook by Crimean solidarity, UKRINFORM reports.

"The Prosecutor's office of Alushta initiated an administrative case against the Imam of the religious community "Alushta" Ashirov Yusuf for "illegal missionary activities", goes the statement.

Ashirov was invited to the "Prosecutor's Office" by phone, without explaining the reason. Only after the arrival of the Imam, the "authorities" reported that an administrative case was initiated against him.

According to lawyer Lili Gemeji, when the decision to initiate an administrative case was being handed over to Yusuf Ashirov, he was deprived of the right to defense. He also had no oportunity to bring in an exert religious scholar to explain his actions.

As the lawyer underscores, her client, as the Imam of an officially registered community, held hutbas (sermons) every Friday among his co-religionists, parishioners of the mosque.

"This is not " illegal missionary activity", because according to the law, " illegal missionary activity is an activity aimed at spreading one's faith among people of another denomination, or among people who are not followers of this faith," the lawyer said.

According to her, this is not the first time that this community exeriences pressure. Thus, the head of the religious community "Alushta" Lenur Khalilov and a member of the audit commission Ruslan Mesutov was detained and arrested on June 10, 2019 after the searches were held in the homes of four Crimean Tatars who lived in the city of Alushta, in the village of Izobilnoye and in the village of Maly Mayak.

Gemeji reminded that the arrest of the head of the religious community of  Alushta had been effected 2 weeks before the court session, which was supposed to consider the claim of the religious community of the city. Alushta to the "Council of Ministers" represented by the so-called Ministry of Property.

"The lawsuit was filed in connection with the fact that the local religious community, whose Chairman was Lenur Khalilov, was given the use of the city mosque by an order of the Council of Ministers in 1994. Later, without canceling the deed of transfer, the mosque was transferred to the RAMC," the lawyer explained.

In her opinion, the "authorities" do not only puts pressure on Yusuf Ashirov, but also violate his constitutional rights, putting his life at risk in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.

"It should be noted that in the conditions of quarantine, contrary to the measures taken in the context of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the Prosecutor's Office called him in the proceedings, which was not urgent, thus violating the constitutional rights of the Imam of the religious community to protect health and exposed him to the risk of contracting coronavirus infection," Gemeji added.

As reported, on March 3, 2020, in the occupied Crimea, the "authorities" imposed a fine of RUR 5000 (about 2000 UAH) to the Imam of the Mosque of  Simferopol, Rasim Dervishev, who was accused of "illegal missionary activity".