MOSCOW, April 7. /TASS/. A court in Grozny, the capital of Russia’s Chechnya Region, has designated the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI) organization and its branches in European countries as terrorist entities, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement.
"Based on evidence collected by the Russian Federal Security Service in cooperation with the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, the Sheikh-Mansurovsky District Court in Grozny, Chechnya, ruled that the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria organization and its 29 branches in 14 European countries be designated as terrorist entities," the statement reads.
According to the FSB, since the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, "CRI members have been taking part in military operations against the Russian Army as part of the Ukrainian armed forces, including acts of sabotage and terrorism in the Belgorod and Kursk regions, and were also involved in killing Russian service members and civilians."
The organization was created in Chechnya in 1991. Akhmed Zakayev, who is internationally wanted for terrorism-related crimes, has headed the organization since November 2007, the FSB added.