The Interior Ministry in Russia's North Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria said on July 9 that 10 residents of the city of Tyrnyauz had been detained for being members of a so-called "Shari'a patrol." They are accused of allegedly beating people with sticks because their "behavior and lifestyle did not correspond to the attackers' religious and extremist beliefs." One suspect was charged with the creation of an extremist group, while the other nine men were charged with taking part in an extremist group's activities. Kabardino-Balkaria, along with Chechnya, Daghestan, Ingushetia, and Karachai-Cherkessia, is part of Russia's mostly Muslim populated, volatile North Caucasus region. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Caucasus.Realities, click here.
Police In Russia's Kabardino-Balkaria Detain Members Of 'Shari'a Patrol'
The city of Tyrnyauz in Russia's Kabardino-Balkaria (file photo)