The court arrested twelve members of Hizb ut-Tahrir

On December 7, the Meshchansky Court of Moscow arrested twelve people who were allegedly members of the Hizb ut-Tahrir organization. It is reported by RAPSI with reference to the press secretary of the court Yulia Bocharova.

“All 12 defendants were given a preventive measure in the form of detention until January 30, 2017,” the agency’s interlocutor said.

According to her, they were charged with committing a crime under part 1 of article 205.5 of the Criminal Code (participation in the activities of an organization that, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, is recognized as terrorist).

Earlier, in Moscow and the Moscow region, the detainees were searched , and religious literature and some “materials of an extremist nature” were confiscated from their homes. According to the investigation, the detainees “organized campaigning sessions to involve citizens in the activities” of the party.

Hizb ut-Tahrir, or the Islamic Liberation Party, is an international pan-Islamic political organization banned in a number of Muslim countries, as well as in Germany, for not recognizing the state of Israel. According to the Sova Information and Analytical Center, which monitors cases of unlawful application of anti-extremist legislation, the party has been unlawfully recognized as terrorist in Russia.