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Four suspected Hizb ut-Tahrir members placed in custody until September in Crimea

Three suspects have been placed in custody until September 2, 2020, while one has been arrested until September 1

SIMFEROPOL, July 8. /TASS/. The Kievsky district court of Simferopol has placed four out of seven suspected members of the Hizb ut-Tahrir terrorist organization (outlawed in Russia) in custody until September, the court’s website informed on Wednesday.

Three suspects have been placed in custody until September 2, 2020, while one has been arrested until September 1. They have been charged under Article 205.5 Part 2 of the Russian Criminal Code (Participation in an organization deemed terrorist on the territory of the Russian Federation).

The website informs that according to the investigators of the FSB Sevastopol and Crimea department, the suspects organized and participated in the activity of a hidden cell of the organization through holding illegal gatherings and carrying out anti-Russian and anti-constitutional activity.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in Crimea said in a statement on Tuesday that it had detained three ringleaders and four active members of Hizb ut-Tahrir.

"FSB officers, together with the Interior Ministry and the National Guard in Crimea, have exposed a cell of the Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami international terrorist organization. Three ringleaders and four active members have been detained," the statement reads.

According to the FSB, the detained were involved in activities violating the Russian Constitution, based on the idea to create the so-called global Caliphate, destroy secular public institutions and overthrow the current government by force. "They secretly spread terrorist ideas among Crimeans and recruited Crimean Muslims," the FSB added.

A large amount of banned Hizb ut-Tahrir propaganda materials, communication equipment and digital storage devices were seized during searches of their homes. Criminal cases have been opened against the detained.