Eight alleged Hizb ut-Tahrir members were sentenced in St. Petersburg

At an off-site hearing in St. Petersburg, the Moscow District Military Court sentenced eight alleged participants in the Hizb ut-Tahrir movement, recognized as a terrorist organization in Russia, the reported . telegram channel of the joint press service of St. Petersburg

The court found them guilty of participating in a terrorist organization (Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code). The court sentenced Maxim Tsvetkov and Eldar Mamedov to 5.5 years of general regime, Aziz Yusufov and Magomed Akhimov - 5 years of general regime, Artur Akhmedov - to 10.5 years of strict regime, Farkhod Nurmatov and Mirzobarot Mirzosharipov - to 6 years of general regime.

In addition, all of them were found guilty under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code (participation in the activities of an extremist organization). Everyone except Mirzosharipov admitted guilt.

The defendants petitioned the court to consider the cases in a special manner, but the court refused them, “because it did not see any grounds for separating the cases into separate proceedings.”

RIA Novosti writes that the accused were detained in 2016–2017. The investigation of the case was conducted by the Russian FSB department for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region. The agency, referring to the indictment, writes that the defendants recruited new members of the organization. In addition, they previously acted as witnesses in the cases of previously convicted members of the St. Petersburg cell of Hizb ut-Tahrir.

The Supreme Court of Russia in 2003 recognized Hizb ut-Tahrir as a terrorist organization and banned it in Russia.