DUSHANBE (Avesta news agency) – The Moscow District Military Court sentenced eight members of the St. Petersburg cell of the terrorist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami, banned in Russia, two of them are Tajik citizens.

The defendants were detained in Petersburg in 2016-2017. All eight were charged with “Participation in the activities of a terrorist organization”. According to the indictment, the accused engaged in the recruitment of new members for the terrorist organization, and conducted training sessions.

Meanwhile, the “Committee on Religious Affairs, the regulation of folk traditions, celebrations and rituals” of Tajikistan announced the youth who returned to their homeland from foreign madrassas (Islamic schools), are enrolled in studies. In total, to the Committee, 3,747 Tajik citizens were studying at the madrassas abroad, 3,463 of them returned home.