The Moscow Regional Military Court on February 14, 2017 found Mokhmad Mezhidov, Elmar Ashayev, and Aslan Baisultanov guilty of having links with the extremist group, the Islamic State (IS) in Syria, and planning a terrorist attack in Moscow. According to court decision, Aslan Baisultanov was sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment in a high-security penal colony, Elman Ashaev to 12 years, and Mokhmad Mezhidov to 3 years.
The story goes back to 2015, when ten people were detained on suspicion of involvement in the preparation of a terror act in Moscow. According to law enforcers, the detainees were trained in Syrian camps of the terrorist organization “Islamic State”, banned in Russia.
Russian officials have also announced that at least 5,000 Russian citizens and nationals of other former Soviet republics have traveled to Syria and Iraq to join IS.
