“Carried out anti-constitutional activity”: FSB detained a group of leaders and members of Hizb ut-Tahrir

The FSB detained two leaders and seven members of the terrorist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami. The operation was carried out jointly with units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Guard in Moscow, Tatarstan and the Tyumen region.

"The members of the structure carried out anti-constitutional activities based on the doctrine of creating the so-called" world caliphate ", the destruction of secular society institutions and aimed at overthrowing the current government by force," the FSB Public Relations Center said in a statement.

According to intelligence agencies, Islamists also formed closed structures of international terrorist organizations in Russian regions and dealt with issues of ensuring illegal activities. In addition, extremists secretly spread terrorist ideology among residents and recruited Muslims into their ranks.

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Security officials found prohibited detainees propaganda materials, communications and electronic media.

Criminal proceedings have been instituted against representatives of the terrorist group. Search operations are ongoing.

Fighting a banned organization

In 2019, Russian special services conducted several successful operations against representatives of the banned organization Hizb ut-Tahrir. In particular, on this occasion in June, eight people were detained in Crimea, among which there were three organizers.

Searches in this case took place in Alushta, Belogorsk and in Simferopol district at the places of residence of three organizers and five members of the terrorist cell. Security officials seized extremist literature, communications, and electronic media from suspects.

An even larger detention of Hizb ut-Tahrir supporters occurred in Crimea in March 2019. The FSB stopped the activities of the group, which included more than 20 people.

Then, the department said that members of the structure spread terrorist ideology among the inhabitants of the peninsula, and also recruited Crimean Muslims into their ranks.

Three more Hizb ut-Tahrir supporters were detained in Crimea in February. They also found extremist literature, computer equipment and communications.

Attack Prevention

In October, the director of the FSB of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bortnikov, said that since the beginning of the year, special services have managed to prevent 39 terrorist attacks in various regions of the country.

“This year, 39 terrorist attacks were prevented at the preparation stage, 32 militants were neutralized, 679 were detained, 22 were inclined to give up terrorist activity,” Bortnikov said at the opening of the plenary session of the eighteenth Meeting of the heads of special services, security agencies and law enforcement agencies of the FSB partner states in Sochi .

In his speech, Bortnikov paid attention to the means that terrorists began to use more actively. The FSB director mentioned that the possible use by terrorists of new technologies, in particular, communications, which does not depend on mobile operators or the Internet, also poses a threat.

According to him, access to artificial intelligence technologies designed to analyze large amounts of data, including illegally obtained ones, also gives additional opportunities to militants.

According to the FSB, the heads of terrorist organizations are increasingly trying to acquire the latest weapons and satellite communications. The head of the department emphasized that the introduction of malware into the infrastructure of states poses a particular risk.

In addition, Bortnikov noted that the leaders of terrorist organizations are increasingly collecting money using electronic payment services and crowdfunding platforms. According to him, confidential cryptocurrencies are used for these purposes, guaranteeing the anonymity of transactions.

At the same time, the Director of the FSB emphasized that the main source of terrorists' incomes remains the drug business, illegal trade in arms, natural resources and cultural property, extortion, the organization of illegal migration channels, the slave trade, and the sale of counterfeit money.

* “Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami” (“Islamic Liberation Party”) - the organization was recognized as terrorist by a decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of February 14, 2003.