Chechen resident accused of trying to join militants in Syria

A resident of Chechnya, detained in the summer of 2019 on the border with Syria, was accused of trying to join the ranks of militants of the "Islamic State" (IS)*. The man pleaded guilty, the Investigating Department for Chechnya of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) reported.

According to the ICRF's Department for Chechnya, in the summer of 2019, a 29-year-old resident of Chechnya made an attempt to leave for Syria and was detained on the Iranian border. "The suspect confessed that he intended to join one of the groupings of the IS*," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has been informed today by an official from the ICRF's Department for Chechnya.

A criminal case was instituted against the resident of Chechnya under Part 1 of Article 30 and Part 2 of Article 208 of the Criminal Code of Russia (preparation for participation in an illegal armed formation (IAF) on the territory of a foreign state ...).

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) for Chechnya, as of March 2020, starting from the beginning of hostilities in Syria, about 800 residents left the republic for the Middle East with the aim of joining the ranks of the IS*. Out of them, 724 were put on the international wanted list.

* Islamic State (IS, former ISIL) is a terrorist organization banned in Russia by the court

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 7, 2020 at 01:54 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.