SIMFEROPOL, July 7. /TASS/. Law enforcement officials in Crimea have detained six people suspected of belonging to the Hizb ut-Tahrir (outlawed in Russia) international terrorist organization, defense attorney Emil Kurbedinov told TASS on Tuesday.

A source in Crimea’s law enforcement earlier reported to TASS that raids related to the Hizb ut-Tahrir case had been conducted in the region. Lawyer Islyam Velilyaev said that his client, a resident of the Oktyabrskoye settlement of the Krasnogvardeisky District, was transferred after the bust to Simferopol.

"Six people are held in custody, and it is very likely that this is again a group accused of collusion with the Hizb ut-Tahrir which in 2003 was declared in Russia a terrorist organization," the defense attorney said.

He added that the raids were conducted in over 10 houses in the Bakhchisaraisky, Krasnogvardeisky, and Simferopolsky districts. Six people were detained except for the one who was absent at his place of residence. The attorneys arrived at the crackdown site but were denied access," the defense attorney said.

The Federal Security Service (FSB) officials in Crimea in the spring of 2019 intercepted the activity of a structure of the Hizb ut-Tahrir terrorist organization, detaining 20 of its participants. Three more were nabbed in Rostov-on-Don during an attempt to enter Ukrainian territory. Later, two more targets of the criminal investigation were taken into custody while four others took cover abroad, said lawyer Edem Semedlyayev, pointing out that in all, there were 29 suspects involved.

On March 11, in Crimea four more participants of the outlawed organization were taken into custody. The FSB Public Relations Center informed TASS that the detainees actively recruited Crimean Muslims and disseminated terrorist ideology. On March 12, the court arrested three of them, while one detainee with health issues will remain under house arrest.

On February 14, 2003, the Russian Supreme Court declared the international religious group Hizb ut-Tahrir (Hizb ut-Tahrir al Islami, Party of Liberation) a terrorist organization. The extremist organization’s activities are outlawed in Russia.