The court in Kislovodsk appointed 2.5 years in a general regime colony to eight local residents who are being held in the case of the Islamist organization At-Takfir wal-Hijra banned in Russia.
The names of the defendants in the case are Imanali Khadzhiev, Issa Bogatyrev, Komil Kholbaev, Amil Gaziev, Murat Apsov, Dmitry Ledenev, Alexander Bazhenov and Abumuslim Fatullayev.
The defendants were found guilty under the article on participation in the activities of an extremist organization. According to investigators, from 2017 to March 2021, they “conducted propaganda in the region in order to persuade them to join” At-Takfir wal-Hijra, and also held meetings where they studied “the foundations of extremist ideology.”
In 2010, the Supreme Court recognized the At-Takfir wal-Hijra organization as extremist and banned its activities in Russia. At the same time, experts question the very existence of such an organization.
Human rights activist and researcher Vitaly Ponomarev, quoted by OVD-Info, previously noted that all allegations about the organization are based on some sources of special services, the reliability of which is unclear: “There are no hidden audio or video recordings in known criminal cases in Russia, where this would appear title. Nowhere is it indicated that the organization has a membership, an entry procedure, a clear hierarchy, a leader.”
