Three Hizb ut-Tahrir supporters arrested in Chelyabinsk

In Chelyabinsk, three supporters of the Islamic organization Hizb ut-Tahrir were charged with participation in the activities of a terrorist organization (under the second part of Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code). According to Interfax on October 5, citing the regional department of the FSB, all three were arrested by court order for two months.

The men, aged 27, 29 and 40, whose names the agency did not release, were recruiting and spreading the ideology of a banned organization in the region, despite a warning issued in June about the illegality of their activities, the FSB said.

Russia is the only country where the Hizb ut-Tahrir movement is recognized as terrorist and banned. The Sova information and analytical center, which monitors cases of racism, xenophobia and the misuse of anti-extremist legislation, considers it unlawful to persecute members of the organization only on the basis of their party activity, for example, because of holding meetings or reading literature.