Translated material
The imam of a Moscow mosque was placed under house arrest
The Butyrsky Court of Moscow placed under house arrest the imam of the Yardyam mosque in Otradnoye, Makhmud Velitov, accused under the article “public calls for terrorist activities or public justification of terrorism” (Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
The investigators requested that Velitov be put under house arrest, Interfax reports.
“My fault is that in one of the four commercials I became an accomplice. May Allah grant that justice prevails,” Velitov said.
- The detention of Mahmud Velitov became known on the afternoon of July 12. According to an official representative of the Investigative Committee, in 2013, during a sermon, Velitov “publicly delivered a speech justifying the activities of one of the members of the Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami terrorist organization (banned on the territory of the Russian Federation).”
- Velitov's lawyer also said that the charges are related to an interview he gave to the Al-Islami channel. According to him, the imam partially admitted his guilt.
- Since 1999, Mahmud Velitov has been the head of the community of the Sunni mosque "Yardyam", opened in 1997 in Otradnoye. The mosque is part of the Spiritual and Educational Complex, which also includes an Orthodox church, a synagogue and a Shiite mosque.