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Moscow resident gets 3 years in jail for attempting to recruit Russians to fight in Syria

The case materials indicate that the defendant induced to move to Syria a Chechen native Zulikhan Magomadova whose departure was prevented by the members of the Main Directorate for Combatting Extremism of the Russian Interior Ministry

MOSCOW, July 30. /TASS/. Moscow’s Second Western District Military Court on Friday sentenced a 23-year-old Moscow resident Anisa Arabieva (previously Anna Molchanova) to three years of incarceration having found her guilty of recruiting terrorists for deployment in Syria, a TASS correspondent reported from the court.

"The court decreed to find Arabieva guilty under Part 1, Article 205.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (inducement and recruitment of an individual for participation in the terror activity) and impose a penalty of three years in a medium-security prison," the verdict said.

The court also decreed to apply the time served at a pre-trial detention facility to the prison term and destroy a book on Islam confiscated from the defendant.

Earlier during the hearing, the prosecutor asked to sentence the defendant to six years of incarceration.

According to the court’s decision, the defendant was recruiting Russians to join the Islamic State (IS) and Jabhat al-Nusra organizations outlawed in Russia for further deployment in Syria. The case materials indicate that she induced to move to Syria a Chechen native Zulikhan Magomadova whose departure was prevented by the members of the Main Directorate for Combatting Extremism of the Russian Interior Ministry. During questioning, she stated that she attempted to leave Russia influenced by the defendant.

The defendant herself stated in court that in 2011 she converted to Islam following tragic circumstances in her life and was interested in various Muslim movements and organizations. However, she completely denied that she induced anyone to participate in military action outside Russia and also stated that she had not committed any crimes. Moreover, she emphasized that she got disillusioned in the ideas of radical Islam and asserted that she was falsely accused by Magomadova. The defendant also asked the court to take into account that she had an underage daughter which is a mitigating circumstance.

On December 29, 2014, the Russian Supreme Court declared the Islamic State - IS - (before 2014 - the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIS) a terrorist organization. The extremist organization’s activities are outlawed in Russia.

On December 29, 2014, the Russian Supreme Court declared the islamist Jabhat al-Nusra group a terrorist organization. The extremist organization’s activities are outlawed in Russia.