Russian Court Jails Alleged Islamic Group Members

A court in the Russian city of St. Petersburg has jailed three members of the banned Hizb ut-Tahrir organization.

Two men, Karim Ibragimov and Eldar Ramazanov, were found guilty on August 17 of organizing a Hizb ut-Tahrir cell in the city and sentenced to 17 and 16 years in jail, respectively, the same day.

The third man, Ilyas Kagirov, was found guilty of being a member of a banned extremist group and received five years in jail.

The men were arrested in 2014 and 2015.

Russia's Supreme Court banned Hizb ut-Tahrir in 2003, designating it a "terrorist organization."

The group is also banned across Central Asia.

Hizb ut-Tahrir is a London-based Sunni political organization. It seeks to unite all Muslim countries into an Islamic caliphate but says its methods for reaching that goal are peaceful.

Based on reporting by Rapsinews.ru and Interfax