When Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, many Crimean Tatars emigrated to escape persecution. Lilya Hemedzhy started studying to become a lawyer.
Some say her work is akin to tilting windmills -- no lawyer can ensure justice in Russia's political trials. She says publicity is essential so the political prisoners are not tortured. One thing is sure: she has become a serious pain in the neck for the occupation authorities.
“I want to help my people and all people living in Crimea. So that they are free from persecution, free in movement, entrepreneurship, and expression.”

Being a lawyer in occupied Crimea
Being a lawyer in the Russia-occupied peninsula, like any other Russian-controlled territory, means you could get arrested on your way from home to the office. This happened to Lilia’s colleague Emil Kurbedinov on 6 December 2018. He reposted a Facebook post the authorities took issue with.



“It is impossible to frighten people by cranking up the repressive machine – you will only awaken the feelings of those who have until now been keeping low.”She recalled that Server Mustafayev has dozens of followers, human rights champions. So does Nariman Memedeminov, a citizen journalist accused of extremism.
Pain in the neck
It is no wonder Russian authorities in Crimea have viewed Hemedzhy as a pain in the neck. Her strength is in uniting people. When in 2017, the 76 protesters who held solitary pickets with signs “Crimean Tatars are not terrorists” were held administratively liable, Liliya wanted to make sure each of them had their own lawyer. She managed to pull it off. There were not enough Crimean lawyers, so Lilia found 20 people who cared about political repressions yet had no background in jurisprudence. They underwent training and learnt the basics of the process, of how to file writs or respond to a particular accusation. The outcome was what Hemedzhy called “an absolute victory in Crimean realities": none of the picketers were arrested, all walked away with fines.
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She says it was not difficult to acquire new expertise. But it is difficult to go to prisons, see ruined lives, and not be able to help. As in Russia, the government, not justice, dictates the verdict.
“want to change the world for the better and have no qualms about getting several extra years [of prison] in exchange for not slandering the innocent in this plea deal.”
Imprisoned for discussing love for the Almighty in a mosque
The “political” charges brought against Crimean Tatars fall into several categories:- the attempt to seize power or overthrow the constitutional order;
- espionage, sabotage, and terrorism;
- or affiliation with Hizb-ut Tahrir.
Hizb ut-Tahrir is a transnational pan-Islamist political organization with the stated purpose to unite the Muslim community in an Islamic Caliphate. However, it complies with solely peaceful means and has never been linked to a terrorist act. Yet, Russia is one of two states globally to have likened Hizb ut-Tahrir to a terrorist organization, the second being Uzbekistan. Being intolerant to dissenting religious views, Russia has continuously used Hizb ut-Tahrir allegations as a tool to persecute innocent people professing Islam.
“Attendance at these meetings turned out to be criminally punishable. Experts opine these are the meetings of Hizb ut-Tahrir members.”The expertise goes like this: “the fact that the word “Hizb ut-Tahrir” is not mentioned in lectures testifies that they [members of the organization] conspire.”

Hemedzhy singles out three key reasons explaining why Moscow jails Crimeans on terrorism and similar charges:
- the Russian government needs to have an internal enemy;
- through the fraudulent charges, it intimidates the population of Crimea justifies the government's actions;
- security officers get easy bonuses for arresting peaceful citizens.
“The first [memory] comes from the school years, when every morning, a school bus would come to pick us up for classes. Local kids, not the Crimean Tatars, would not allow us to sit and I rode standing all the way from home to school, 5 kilometres (3 miles). And the second is the memory from the academy. There were eight of us, Crimean Tatars, studying in the class, six of whom graduated with honours. When a commission from Odesa arrived for the evaluation of our final thesis, they said in a casual chat following an official part, 'We were shocked to see such a high level of training.' For them, we were sort of shepherds who came down if not from the mountains then from the Dzhankoi steppe.”Time passes, the cultural bigotry stands still. Years later, a Russian teacher displays a woman wearing a headscarf to explain to Lilia’s kids what a terrorist looks like. “For me, this is unacceptable,” the lawyer says.

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- “I do not want my children to live in a country of terror.” Four inspiring letters from Crimean Tatar political prisoners not broken by Russia
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