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Court to consider extending arrest of Russian student charged with attempting to join IS

Varvara Karaulova was arrested on 28 October 2015 and officially charged with an attempt to join IS on November 10

MOSCOW, July 22 /TASS/. Moscow’s Lefortovo court will consider investigators’ request to extend the arrest of Varvara Karaulova (Alexandra Ivanova), a Moscow State University student accused of an attempt to join the Islamic State terrorist group, Karaulova’s lawyer Sergei Badamshin told TASS.

The investigator insists there are no grounds for softening Karaulova’s measure of restraint. He fears that once released from custody, Karaulova may try to escape and put up obstacles to the investigation.

Karaulova’s lawyers will try to convince the court that there was no need to keep her in custody and that she should be put under house arrest.

Karaulova was arrested on suspicion of links to the Islamic State terrorist group on October 28, 2015. Official charges were brought against her on November 10.

Varvara Karaulova left home on May 27. She told her parents that he was going to the University and secretly left for Istanbul. On June 4, the Turkish branch of Interpol detained her and another 12 Russians when they were crossing Turkey’s southern border with Syria with an aim to join IS militants.

Karaulova was returned to Russia by flight from Istanbul on June 12. Her recruiters were arrested later.