Russia has brought criminal charges against a Crimean Tatar who not only refused to give false testimony against political prisoner Enver Seytosmanov, but also lodged a formal complaint over the measures used by the FSB to force him to tell lies.
A year after Bekirov’s courageous refusal, the FSB turned up at his home in Orlinoye in occupied Crimea. They carried out a search and then took him to the FSB offices in Sevastopol. He managed to phone lawyer Rustem Kyamilev who advised him not to answer any questions, citing Article 51 of the Russian Constitution (on the right not to testify against oneself). He was finally released many hours later, being forced to give a signed undertaking to not leave the area.
