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FSB nabs two ringleaders, three members of Hizb ut-Tahrir terror cell in Crimea

According to the FSB, the cell’s members "carried out unconstitutional activities based on the doctrine of the creation of the so-called worldwide caliphate, the destruction of secular societal institutions and directing efforts towards overthrowing the current authorities by force"

MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/. Two ringleaders and three members of the Hizb ut-Tahrir terrorist organization (outlawed in Russia) have been detained in Crimea. The individuals in custody were recruiting Crimean Muslims, the Public Relations Center of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) told TASS.

"Russia’s Federal Security Service, in cooperation with units of the Russian Interior Ministry and the Federal National Guard Service in the Republic of Crimea foiled the activities of a cell of the Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami international terrorist organization (outlawed in Russia by the decision of the Russian Supreme Court in 2003). Two ringleaders and three of its active members were detained," the FSB said.

According to the Federal Security Service, the cell’s members "carried out unconstitutional activities based on the doctrine of the creation of the so-called worldwide caliphate, the destruction of secular societal institutions and directing efforts towards overthrowing the current authorities by force." "During their meetings, taking clandestine security measures, they spread terrorist ideology among residents of the peninsula, recruiting Crimean Muslims into their ranks," it explained.

Large volumes of Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami propaganda items were found and seized in their apartments, along with numerous means of communication and electronic data storage devices. The authorities have launched criminal cases, and investigative activities are underway.