Aslambek Ezhayev, a prominent Islamic publisher in the Russian language, was sentenced today to 17 years in prison. Our readers are mostly long-time subscribers who are familiar with the essence of the situation, but for those who are not, let us explain: the leading Islamic publisher in Russia is being dealt with because he published material that was deemed inappropriate and not in the desired manner. Specifically, this is being done by those who have decided to take action against him. He was targeted because he tried to carry out his publishing activities independently, despite constant bans, raids and searches, instead of integrating into the system as he was offered.
This comes as the Kremlin, the State Department and the Russian Orthodox Church are crying foul over alleged repression in Ukraine against the local Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. This includes incidents of searches or churches being taken away and given to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and so on. So we would like to ask who among them was sentenced to 17 years for publishing exclusively religious literature? And in general, is there anything remotely similar to what has happened to Muslims in Russia, including publishers, as you can read here https://golosislama.com/news.php?id=31080.
But let’s get back to Aslambek’s case. It was clear from the moment of his arrest and the announcement of charges related to financing terrorism that he would be «closed» for a long time. Simply because today’s Mordor does not practice acquittal in such cases, and all court proceedings are a fiction in which predetermined sentences are announced. As for the progress of his case, Aslambek himself spoke about it today in his last statement https://t.me/newsislamist/7370.
So there was no doubt that the court would impose almost the same sentence as the prosecutor requested (18 years). The only question was the strategy of the defense, namely their decision to completely hide the course of the trial. Moreover, according to journalists in the courtroom, they even refused to comment on the verdict itself, which is quite surprising.
Such secrecy would only make sense if it resulted in a reduced sentence. But there is no need to discuss this — whether it is 18 years, 28 years or simply life imprisonment, it makes no difference to a 60-year-old person with a bouquet of chronic illnesses. As Aslambek himself mentioned in his last statement, he considers such a punishment equivalent to life imprisonment.
Therefore, unfortunately, the explanation for such behavior of the defense seems simple — they are intimidated by the security forces, which may also apply to the victim’s family, which has chosen the same approach. However, it must be acknowledged that even if they had chosen to go public, it would not have influenced the final decision, while it may have had additional negative consequences for them.
In essence, Aslambek Ezhayev has been sentenced to life imprisonment for his public and educational activities, which have nothing to do with politics, let alone the charges against him. And if anyone should be surprised by this, it is certainly not the majority of our long-time subscribers, but rather those who, unlike them, have yet to understand the nature of the monstrous Russian system.
It has long ceased to make sense to ask why official imams and representatives of religious institutions have remained silent in such cases for many years. It is simply because, like the lawyers who were supposed to draw media and public attention to the lawlessness they allowed in previous years, they too must understand that Russia has become a gulag of Stalinist proportions. And nothing can be done about it from the inside. To do something in such cases and others like them is possible only from the outside, and we, addressing our readers who have this possibility, urge you to do so.