A verdict has been issued for the organizer and participants of the "sharia patrols" in Tyrnyauz.

The organizer of the so-called "sharia patrols" in Tyrnyauz has been sentenced to 7.5 years in a strict regime. Nine members of the extremist community received sentences ranging from 3.5 to 4.5 years in a penal colony.

"Caucasian Knot" reported on the detention in July 2024 of residents of Tyrnyauz suspected of participating in the "sharia patrols" and beating residents of Kabardino-Balkaria. For violating sharia norms, one is supposed to answer before a sharia court, and beating violators of behavioral norms is considered lawlessness, religious scholars indicated at that time. In June 2025, the case of ten defendants was sent to the Elbrus District Court.

The Elbrus District Court in Kabardino-Balkaria announced the verdict for ten defendants in the "sharia patrol" criminal case. Eight of them - Damray Baizulaev, Azamat Zhashuev, Tamaz Zvanbaya, Murman Ivechiani, Timur Kardanov, Aslan Nakhushev, Shamil Rakhayev, and Zeitun Temmoev - were accused of participating in an extremist community 1 . In addition to this article, Najmudin Liev was charged with public calls for extremism via the internet 2 .

Askhata Chechenov was considered the organizer of the extremist community 3 . Additionally, Chechenov was charged, like Liev, with public calls for extremist activities.

The court found all defendants guilty. The organizer of the "sharia patrols" was sentenced to seven years and six months in a strict regime with a two-year restriction of freedom. He is also prohibited from administering websites and participating in the work of religious public organizations for three years after his release.

Nine members of the community received sentences ranging from three and a half to four and a half years in a general regime colony with a one-year restriction of freedom, the press service of the Elbrus District Court reported today on its website.

The verdict, which was publicly announced only today, was issued back on August 7. According to security officials, the "sharia patrols" in Tyrnyauz operated from March 2017 to November 2023. Their members intimidated local residents whose behavior and lifestyle contradicted their beliefs and attacked such people, "including beating them with sticks," notes RIA "Novosti".

According to the republican Ministry of Internal Affairs, 16 people were harmed by the actions of the participants in the "sharia patrols".

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that in June, the Cherek District Court of Kabardino-Balkaria sentenced the organizer of the "sharia patrol" to four years and three months of imprisonment. The other members of the community were sentenced to terms of two years.

In April 2022, the Urvansky Court sentenced 11 residents of the village of Anzorey to suspended sentences, finding them guilty in a case of an extremist community. According to the prosecution, the defendants, guided by sharia norms, used force against those who did not share their views. However, the lawyers and relatives of the defendants claimed that the reason for the extremism case was domestic conflicts, as stated in the material of "Caucasian Knot" "Anzorey Patrols: from Sharia to Extremism".