The court sentenced the head of the Crimean terrorist cell to 17 years in prison

The Southern District Military Court delivered a guilty verdict to the head and members of the banned terrorist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami, established in Crimea. About it reported in a court.

Members of the terrorist organization Alim Sufyanov and Seyran Khayredinov received 12 years in prison with the first four years in prison. The head of the cell Alexander Sizikov was sentenced by the court to 17 years in prison, four of which he will spend in prison. Depending on the role of each, they were found guilty of participation in a terrorist organization (Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and of forcible seizure and retention of power (Article 30, Article 278 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

The court found that the Crimean cell was organized by Sizikov in 2015. He also held meetings, set goals and objectives, and also stated the need to “change the political system and state structure of countries, including Russia, with the help of propaganda, as well as conducting war with opponents of the ideas of a terrorist organization. Khayredinov and Sufyanov participated in this activity, the court clarified.

Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami (Islamic Liberation Party. – Ar.) was founded in 1953 in East Jerusalem by the judge of the local Sharia Court of Appeal Takiyuddin al-Nabhani. The organization calls the construction of a “caliphate” its goal. In addition to Russia, the organization is banned in Germany (for denying the existence of Israel), in Eastern Europe, in Turkey, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, in all Arab countries, except for the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Yemen. The United States does not consider it a terrorist organization, however, it is classified as a group that potentially supports Islamism and extremism.

The organization is regularly mentioned by law enforcement agencies in the context of counter-terrorism activities. In Russia, it was banned by a decision of the Supreme Court in 2003. The last time a mass detention of members of the organization in Crimea was reported in January 2023. Its members spread terrorist ideology in Russia and recruited local Muslims into their ranks during meetings.