Three alleged followers of Said Nursi detained in Kazan

Employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal Security Service of Tatarstan detained three Muslims suspected of involvement in the Nurcular organization. Later it became known about their arrest.

On November 12, 2021, it became known that in Kazan, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB detained three people who, according to the investigation, were in a cell of the "extremist organization Nurcular". Among the detainees is 36-year-old teacher of the Kazan National Research Technological University Vladimir Katnov. According to law enforcement officers, he recruited students into the cell.

On the same day, the Vakhitovsky District Court of Kazan chose the measure of crossing for all three in the form of detention. Two of those arrested - Aliakber Pashaev and Renat Yusupov - are charged with a crime under Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (participation in the activities of an extremist organization), one - under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization of the activities of an extremist organization).

On March 26, 2022, it became known that Katnovu's preventive measure was changed to a written undertaking not to leave.

We consider ban the Nurcular unlawful. Its recognition as an extremist organization in 2008 was the result of unreasonable bans on the books of moderate Turkish Islamic theologian Said Nursi for promoting the superiority of Islam over other religions. Recall that in 2018 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that by banning these books, Russian courts violated Art. 10 of the European Convention guaranteeing freedom of expression. We believe that Russian Muslims who study Nursi's heritage do not constitute a single organization. However, the Nurcular association is banned in Russia as an extremist organization, with the result that Muslims who read and discuss Nursi's books are prosecuted.

Sources

• Inc. inf.
• Cell of extremist organization "Nurcular" liquidated in Tatarstan // TASS. November 12, 2021
• Russian professor detained by the FSB for creating an extremist cell at a university // Lenta.Ru. November 12, 2021
• In the Vakhitovsky District Court of Kazan, a preventive measure was chosen in the form of detention for the accused under Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation // Vakhitovsky district court of the city of Kazan. November 12, 2021
• Associate professor of KCTI, suspected of organizing an extremist community, was released // Inkazan.ru. 2022. March 26.