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Court sentences Crimean members of Hizb ut-Tahrir

The convicts received sentence between 7 and 19 years in a high-security colony

ROSTOV-ON-DON, November 12. /TASS/. The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don on Tuesday sentenced six Crimean citizens, accused of being involved in activity of the Hizb ut-Tahrir international terrorist group outlawed in Russia, to between 7 and 19 years in a high-security colony, a TASS correspondent has reported.

"The defendants have been found guilty," the judge said.

Muslim Aliyev was sentenced to 19 years behind bars, Inver Bekirov to 18 years, Vadim Siruk and Emir-Usein Kuku to 12 years, Refat Alimov to 8 years, Arsen Dzepparov to 7 years.

Depending on their role, the individuals were suspected of being involved in the activity of a terrorist organization, plotting and committing a crime by a group of persons, and an attempt to carry out a crime, and a forcible seizure of power. According to investigators, Aliyev and Bekirov were the organizers of the terrorist cell, while the others were its alleged members.

At their gatherings, the individuals called for a total Islamization and were involved in recruiting new members and inciting extremist activity. The defendants have pleaded not guilty and plan to challenge the decision.

"We will appeal this as an illegal act. We fully disagree with it," one of the lawyers, Sergei Loktev, told reporers.

Hizb ut-Tahrir international pan-Islamist political organization was outlawed as a terror group in Russia by the decision of the Supreme Court on February 14, 2003.