In St. Petersburg, a court sentenced a man accused of recruiting into the Islamic State via WhatsApp to seven years in prison.

The Moscow District Military Court based on the Leningrad District Military Court sentenced Atabek Rustamov, accused of recruiting into the Islamic State via WhatsApp , to seven years in a general regime colony , reported . the telegram channel of the joint press service of St. Petersburg

Rustamov was found guilty under Part 1 of Article 205.1 of the Criminal Code (inducement, recruitment or other involvement of a person in committing terrorist activities). The defendant refused to admit guilt.

According to investigators, Rustamov was an adherent of the radical movement of Islam, propagated the ideas of “world jihad” and approved the activities of the “Islamic State”. In December 2015, the defendant created a group chat on WhatsApp called “Ahli sunna wal jamoya.” The investigation emphasizes that the messenger account was linked to a subscriber number belonging to Rustamov.

According to the investigation, the defendant, trying to recruit chat participants to commit crimes classified under Article 205 of the Criminal Code (terrorist act), 205.2 of the Criminal Code (organizing the activities of a terrorist organization and participating in the activities of such an organization) and 208 of the Criminal Code (organizing an illegal armed group or participating in it ), added Rustamov Azizbek, Aitmatov A.A., Satymbaev Sh.K., Nurbaev I.I., Stepanov I.P.

“In this group, Rustamov carried out ideological indoctrination of its participants, expressed in involving them in terrorist activities through beliefs in the religious unity of Muslims, the correctness of the activities of the Islamic State organization and the need to commit violent actions against persons of a different religion, committing terrorist acts and participating in illegal armed groups ", writes the press service.

As Interfax Russia wrote, together with a native of Kyrgyzstan, Atabek Rustamov, in April 2017, the court arrested his brother Azizbek Rustamov, as well as Zhurabek Muratov, Islambek Oybek, Bakhadir Madrakhimov, Feruza Inakov, Shukhrat Satymbaev and Iskander Nurbaev.

Initially, the investigation assumed that the recruiters could be connected with the perpetrator of the terrorist attack in the St. Petersburg metro. Later this information was not confirmed.

In August, the court sentenced Satymbaev to a 50 thousand fine for being in a WhatsApp chat where supporters of the Islamic State were recruited, and not reporting this to law enforcement agencies (205.6 of the Criminal Code).