Crimean Muslim Women’s Conference Stopped in Simferopol

In Simferopol unknown persons prevented a Crimean Muslim Women’s Conference from being held by stating that there were explosives in the building, which was to hold the event.

As BBC Ukraine reports, the conference was organized by the Muslim League Insaf (Justice), which is associated with the Crimean branch of the Islamic Party of Liberation (Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami), which is banned in some countries for its radical views. However, the party legally operates in many European countries and in the USA.

Representatives of Insaf told BBC Ukraine that the conference was originally planned to take place in the Palace of Culture of Trade Unions, but on Friday the administration of the institution suddenly refused to rent out the room, citing the fact that the “roof was leaking.”

Organizers quickly turned to the Tchaikovsky Music College and signed a lease to rent the assembly hall. However, when the conference was to start, the building of the school had no power, and later police arrived and said they received information about a bomb threat at the school.

The chair of Insaf believes that someone deliberately tried to stop the conference. “I think everything that happened was pure provocation, which was neatly disguised under various pretenses,” she said.

An international Hizb ut-Tahrir forum, which will bring together representatives of the party from countries of the CIS, the Middle East, and Europe, is scheduled to be held in Simferopol on October 7-8.

Fazil Amzaev, spokesman for the party in Ukraine, said that the forum will convene in order to “dispel the false stereotypes about the activities of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to openly and publicly talk about it and its work.”

According to him, in addition to representatives of the party, leadership of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People and the Spiritual Directorate of Muslims of Crimea (SDMC), which calls Hizb ut-Tahrir a radical sect, as well as representatives of the Crimean authorities, experts, and journalists, have been invited to the forum

It is unknown whether the authorities will attend, but the Mejlis and SDMC assured BBC Ukraine that they will not attend the Hizb ut-Tahrir conference.

Meanwhile, Amzaev says the organizers fear provocations aimed at undermining the forum. “We hope that there will be no provocations. However, we are ready for them,” he said.

In June in Simferopol, a few hours before a rally of the Hizb ut-Tahrir, in the place it was to be held, the police found a bomb from World War II. Because of this, the event was moved to a nearby playground.