Resident of Kabardino-Balkaria sentenced for trying to join Syrian militants

In Rostov-on-Don, the Southern District Military Court found Zalim Atalikov, a resident of Kabardino-Balkaria, guilty of trying to join the Syrian militants and sentenced him to four years of imprisonment in a high-security penal colony.

Investigators charged Zalim Atalikov, a 37-year-old native of the village of Anzorei in the Leskensky District of Kabardino-Balkaria, with articles about participation in a terrorist organization and an attempt to participate in an illegal armed formation (IAF). According to the investigators’ version, in January 2017, Zalim Atalikov decided to take part in an armed grouping, a unit of the “Islamic State”*.

Investigators found that on March 6, 2017, Zalim Atalikov flew to Dubai, from where he left for Egypt and then to Istanbul, where in early May 2017, he arrived at an apartment used by IS* participants and lived there for some time, continuing to take measures to leave for Syria. However, he failed to complete its intentions due to circumstances beyond his control, the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent was informed at the press service for the Southern District Military Court.

The defendant pleaded not guilty.

* Islamic State (IS) 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 August 17, 2021 at 04:05 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.