Press Release
Hizb ut Tahrir Member Rafis Galiullin in Kazakhstan prison:
"Every day, they demanded me to forsake the party"

On 25th April 2016, Radio Liberty in Kazakhstan published an article about imprisoned member of Hizb ut Tahrir Rafis Galiulin. Journalists report that Rafis Galiulin is contained in Pavlodar penal colony under inhumane conditions: he is forced to drink boiling water and to eat burning food, not allowed to use the bathroom deprived of sleep, and they even tried to infect him with tuberculosis, by intentionally imprisoning him with infected people.

Rafis Galiulin was sentenced in 2010 to seven years in prison for participating in the activities of Hizb ut Tahrir on the following articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan: 164, Part 2 (Incitement of Social, National, Tribal, Racial, or Religious Enmity);

- 233-1, Part 1 (Promotion of terrorism or public appeals to commit a terrorism offence, and equal distribution of materials of mentioned contents);

- 337-1, Part 1 (Organisation of the activity of a public or a religious association or another organisation, in respect of which there is a court decision which took legal effect about the prohibition of their activity or the liquidation on account of the implementation of extremism by them);

- 337-1, Part 2 (Participation in the activity of a public or a religious association or another organisation, in respect of which there is a court decision which took legal effect about the prohibition of their activity or the liquidation on account of the implementation of extremism by them).

During the years of the imprisonment, Rafis underwent innumerable tortures, beatings and humiliation in various prison-colonies of Kazakhstan, which are prisons that have been repeatedly reported by the media and human rights activists.

Rafis was not the only one subjected to immense pressures throughout these years, but also his family. In 2013, his wife Russian Muslim woman Natalya Voytenkova, was sentenced to 5 years in prison, and accused of extremism for having acted in defense of her oppressed husband.

It is important to note that all these abuses, to which Kazakh authorities subject a Muslim and his family are aimed at only one purpose: the rejection of membership in Hizb ut Tahrir. According to Radio Liberty: "Galiulin in a phone call from prison once said to his wife that he is almost every day," persuaded "in front of the vv (video camera) to defame the organization" Hizb ut Tahrir "and to say that people who following that –are misled".

Thus, the Kazakh authorities are following in the footsteps of the Quraish, who were also imposed on the Prophet's companions (peace be upon him) a single requirement - the rejection of Islam. Stories of torture in Mecca against Bilal, Habbab and the Yasser family (RA), in relation to which the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:

«صبرا آل ياسر، فإن موعدكم الجنة»

“Endure, Yasser family, because truly, your place in Paradise” - are commonly known, and indeed the authorities of Kazakhstan and their henchmen placed themselves on par with the worst people of which Allah (swt) described! Do they not see to who they are being likened to? What are they trying to achieve from a servant of Allah who says nothing more than: "Verily, I am- one of the Muslims"?

(وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ قَوْلًا مِمَّنْ دَعَا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا وَقَالَ إِنَّنِي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ)

“And who is better in speech than someone who calls to God, and acts with integrity, and says, "I am of those who submit"?” [41:33]

Members of Hizb ut Tahrir are subjected to torture at the hands of despotic regimes across the region after the collapse of the Soviet Union - Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Thousands of men and women in these countries are exposed daily to various tortures and humiliations just for the sake of one requirement – to abandon their views and the way they follow – i.e. the path of reviving the Islamic way of life in the ranks of Hizb ut Tahrir. So let every henchman of tyrants and enemies of Islam remember two points.

First - is the Day of Judgment, which will not escape anyone, and the shame and fear from Allah, the names of which are Al-Jabbar (The All-Compelling) and Al-Qahhar (The Prevailer), because truly The Almighty Exalted promised a severe punishment to all who test His righteous slaves:

(إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَتَنُوا الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَتُوبُوا فَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ الْحَرِيقِ)

“Those who tempt the believers, men and women, then do not repent; for them is the punishment of Hell; for them is the punishment of Burning.” [85:10]

Secondly, one must not forget that all tyrants and their accomplices who torture the believers it is inevitable that there is an end to all authoritarian regimes sooner or later and this is an unchanged norm. Let the tormentor of believers look around and realize the fate of oppressors after the fall of their masters’ regimes - each one of them expects the harsh retribution. And these words are not a threat, but a warning of the inevitable end for the criminals!

The Almighty Allah said:

(سَيُصِيبُ الَّذِينَ أَجْرَمُوا صَغَارٌ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَعَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ بِمَا كَانُوا يَمْكُرُونَ)

“There will afflict those who committed crimes debasement before Allah and severe punishment for what they used to conspire.” [Al-An'am: 124]

The Central Media Office
of Hizb ut Tahrir