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FSB initiates criminal case against creator of Islamic Battalion Crimea

It is specified that "from June 2014 to the present time the man, who leads the battalion, took a direct part in combat actions against the Russian armed forces"

© FSB/TASS, archive

SIMFEROPOL, October 24. /TASS/. The Russian Federal Security Service in the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol has opened a criminal case against a Ukrainian citizen who created an illegal armed formation ‘Islamic Battalion Crimea’, the press service of the department told reporters on Monday.

"He is charged with the organization of an illegal armed formation or participation in it, as well as participation in an armed conflict or military actions with purposes contrary to the interests of the Russian Federation (part 1 of Article 208 of the Criminal Code). It was established that the citizen, 57, who left the Crimean peninsula in March 2014, created an illegal armed formation in Ukraine with the aim of violating the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation. He also provided participants of the formation with firearms and ammunition," the report reads.

It is specified that "from June 2014 to the present time the man, who leads the battalion, took a direct part in combat actions against the Russian armed forces". "The Article 208 of the Russian Criminal Code provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 10 to 20 years," the department added.

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