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Fight against Islamic state

Court in Tajikistan sentences 7 Islamic State supporters

Ьore than 700 citizens of the country are taking part in the fighting in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan on the side of the Islamic State

DUSHANBE, December 4. /TASS/. A court in Tajikistan’s southern Khatlon province has sentenced seven local residents to prison terms ranging from 7 to 27 years on charges of involvement in the activities of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group (outlawed in Russia), the court secretariat told TASS on Friday.

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According to the verdict announced by the judge, the defendants are charged under several articles of the country’s Criminal Code, including the establishment of a criminal organization, public appeals for changing the existing political system, promotion of IS ideas and recruitment of citizens for taking part in the fighting in Syria.

"The law enforcement bodies of the province traced the extremist group, among its members were three young people under 18, after the incident with rising the IS flag in the city of Shaartuz in August," a source in Tajikistan’s Interior Ministry told TASS. The investigation proved the involvement of the group’s members in attempts to recruit young residents of Shaartuz to Islamic State, active correspondence in social networks with supporters of the terrorist organization and a statement of their support for their ideas.

According to the State Committee for National Security of Tajikistan, more than 700 citizens of the country, mostly young people, are taking part in the fighting in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan on the side of the Islamic State.

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