Rostov supporter of "Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami"* sentenced to seven years of strict custody regime

The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don has announced the verdict passed to Khaidarali Ashurov, accused of attempting to organize terrorist activities for studying the ideology of the "Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami"*.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in June 2022, the FSB (Russian Federal Security Service) informed on the detention of 13 members of a cell of the terrorist organization "Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami"* in Rostov-on-Don. According to law enforcers, they recruited local Muslims and migrants. The court also arrested Ashurov, who studied the ideology of the "Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami"*, but was not accepted into the organization.

Two more articles were added to Ashurov's charges – on public calls for extremist activity and on public justification of terrorism.

According to the court's press service, Ashurov was also charged with organizing meetings in Rostov-on-Don between April 26 and August 23, 2020, at which he "spoke approvingly about the activities of terrorist organizations" and called for violence.

The court has sentenced Ashurov to seven years in a maximum security colony with serving the first three years in prison.

Ashurov has claimed that the books seized during the search in his house did not belong to him, the "Kommersant" then wrote.

*An international pan-Islamist and fundamentalist political organization whose stated aim is the re-establishment of the Islamic caliphate. In 2003, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation recognized "Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami" as a terrorist organization and banned its activities.