Additional Name(s): Сулейманов Ренат Рустемович
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: Russia
Ethnic Group: Crimean Tatar
Religion or Belief: Muslim – Sunni
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Sentence: 4 Years' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: October/2/2017
Date of Sentencing: January/22/2019
Date of Release: December/24/2020
Current Status: Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Attending a Religious Gathering or Meeting Discussing Religion & Religious Texts Ethnoreligious Identity Possession of Religious Materials Religious Activity Religious Association Religious Belief
Nature of Charges: Banned Organization Extremism
Renat Suleimanov was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.
On October 2, 2017, authorities arrested Suleimanov following a raid on his home in Molodezhnoe, Crimea. Authorities reportedly seized his computer and religious literature. Suleimanov and his colleagues often gathered at his mosque to discuss religious questions.
On January 22, 2019, the Supreme Court of Crimea sentenced Suleimanov to four years in prison for “organizing the activities of a public or religious association or other organization in respect of which a court has adopted a final decision to liquidate or ban activities in connection with extremist activities” (Art. 282.2-1 RCC). Prosecutors alleged that he was a leader of the Tabligh Jamaat movement.
In January 2020, Suleimanov was transferred to a closed zone with strict detention conditions inside Kamenka Labour Camp in the Kabardino-Balkariya Republic.
On December 24, 2020, Suleimanov was reportedly released.
Suleimanov is married with three children.
Photo attributed to Memorial Human Rights Center
"Сулейманов Ренат Рустемович" Memorial Human Rights Center
2020 Report on International Religious Freedom: Ukraine—Crimea U.S. Department of State
"Crimea: Ten months in Russian 'prison within a prison'" Forum 18
"Renat Suleimanov, convicted of involvement in Tablighi Jamaat in Crimea, is a political prisoner, Memorial says" Memorial Human Rights Center
"Crimea: Up to 10 years' jail for Muslims, Jehovah's Witness?" Forum 18