Press Release
In Russia, Chaste Muslim Women Are Arrested and Brutalized!
(Translated)

On September 18, 2024, Russian media reported raids and arrests in Tatarstan involving four Muslim sisters accused of belonging to Hizb ut Tahrir. They face prison sentences of over ten years under Article 205/5 of the Russian Federation law. The sisters, Leysan Sadykova (Лейсан Садыкова), Aliya Vaisova (Алия Ваисова), Alsina Khairullina (Альсина Хайруллина), and Albina Vali Akhmetova (Альбина Валиахметова), were brought to the Vakhitovsky Court in Kazan in a humiliating manner, as if they were dangerous criminals, with their hands shackled and under the guard of Russian special security forces.

The security agencies ignored the defense’s request for house arrest, citing that these women are mothers of young children and other relevant reasons. Nevertheless, the security agencies insisted on detaining and imprisoning them due to their alleged distribution and dissemination of ideas stemming from the creed of the global Khilafah (Caliphate) system since March 2019—five years ago. The security agencies had been aware of their activities since then, yet did not arrest them until now.

This indicates that their arrest, according to this law, means they pose no threat to society, and it is not due to their activities in a so-called "terrorist" organization. Instead, it is because Russia is governed by a mindset similar to the KGB era during the Soviet period, where their mission was to terrorize Muslims in particular, and society in general.

The security services have not only separated children from their parents by imprisoning them for long periods under the accusation of belonging to Hizb ut Tahrir—as in the case of Emir Vali Akhmetov, who has been imprisoned since 2016 and is the father of two children—but now they have arrested his wife, Albina Vali Akhmetova, leaving their two children parentless. This is done to intimidate both Muslims and the broader society.

The rulers of Muslim countries and organizations that maintain relations with Russia must pressure Russia to release these innocent, chaste Muslim women or sever their ties with it. If their relationships with Russia are more important than the tears of these women and their children, then we pray to Allah to humiliate these oppressors and their accomplices in this world and the Hereafter for this heinous crime.

Allah Almighty says:

[وَمَا نَقَمُوا مِنْهُمْ إِلَّا أَن يُؤْمِنُوا بِاللهِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ]

“And they resented them not except because they believed in Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Praiseworthy” [Al-Buruj:8].

The Central Media Office
of Hizb ut Tahrir