28 July 2024, 21:59
Three Chechen natives arrested in Belgium
Belgian law enforcers have conducted an antiterrorist operation and detained seven natives from Chechnya. Three of them were arrested on charges of involvement in the activities of an international terrorist organization and preparing a terror act.
According to the Belgian Federal Prosecutor's Office, a major antiterrorist operation was conducted on July 25; and seven people were detained. Fourteen searches were conducted. All of the detainees are members of the Belgian Chechen Diaspora, four of them were released, the TASS writes.
On July 26, the court ruled to arrest three natives of Chechnya. All the three are accused of participating in the terrorist grouping "Vilayat Khorasan"*, and of plotting a terror act; besides, one of them is accused of financing terrorism, the RIA "Novosti" reports.
Belgium has one of the largest Chechen Diasporas in Europe.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in May 2023, Belgian law enforcement bodies detained seven supporters of the "Islamic State" (IS)**, suspected of preparing a terror act. Natives of Chechnya were among the suspects.
In June 2015, 16 natives of Chechnya were detained and suspected of extremist activity. Following a series of terror acts committed in Brussels on March 22, 2016, natives from Northern Caucasus, in particular Chechens, have been facing sweeping accusations of involvement in terrorism, Sasha Kulaeva, the head of the Division for Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the International Human Rights Federation (FIDH), has stated.
*Khorasan (from Persian "land of the rising sun") is a historical region covering parts of present-day Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, as well as several countries in Central Asia. In IS' terminology, "Vilayats" are administrative units of the global caliphate that it is trying to build.
**On December 29, 2014, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation recognized the organization "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL or IS) as a terrorist international organization and banned its activities in Russia.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 27, 2024 at 03:41 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: Caucasian Knot
