Case against NORM in St. Petersburg

In August 2013, it became known that a criminal case under Part 1 of Art. 205.2 of the Criminal Code (public justification of terrorism) against one of the leaders of the National Organization of Russian Muslims (NORM) Maxim Baidak. In March 2018, Baydak, under a different name, was detained in Yerevan and may be extradited to Russia.

On August 23, 2013, two leaders of the National Organization of Russian Muslim Leaders (NORM) Maksim Baydak (Salman Sever) and Grigory Mavrov (Amir Hamdani al-Maliki) and two ordinary members of the organization Vadim Shlahter and Nikolai Belozertsev were detained in St. Petersburg. Searches were carried out in the homes of the detainees, and books from the Federal List of Extremist Materials were confiscated. What exactly - was not reported.

The reason for the searches and detentions was Baidom's publication on May 29, 2011 on the Internet of an article falling under Part 1 of Art. 205.2 CC.

According to Sova, the article referred to was "Islam and the seaside guerrillas", which indeed fully endorsed not only the actions of the "seaside guerrillas", but also jihadist terrorism.

While the issue of bringing charges against M. Baidak and choosing a measure of restraint against him was being decided, he went abroad. For several years he lived in Turkey, and since 2016 - in Ukraine. After leaving Russia, he was put on the international wanted list.

No charges were reported against any of the other detainees.

On March 31, 2018, M. Baydak, already a citizen of Ukraine named Bohdan Kalyussky (apparently changed his name upon obtaining citizenship), was detained in Yerevan on suspicion of forging documents and illegally crossing the border. Due to the fact that Russia had previously put him on the international wanted list, he may be extradited to the Russian Federation.

Sources

• Siloviki launched an attack on the organization of "Russian Muslims" - expert // Interfax. 2013. August 21.
• In St. Petersburg, a "Russian Muslim" is accused of justifying terrorism // Interfax. 2013. August 21.
• Illegal criminal prosecution of a Ukrainian blogger in the RA. Statement // Arntimes.com. 2018. April 3.
• Inc. inf.