29.08 4 Islamist
MOSCOW, August 29 (RIA Novosti) Four alleged Islamist terrorists from the southern Urals Republic of Bashkortostan have been arrested and charged with preparing a coup, Russias Federal Security Service (FSB) said Thursday.
The four men named as Yevgeny Kulagin, Rasim Satayev, Alexei Khamadeyev and Aidar Garifyanov- are suspected members of Hizb-ut Tahrir al-Islami (The Party of Islamic Liberation), an international Islamist group banned in Russia since 2003, the FSB's Bashkortostan branch said.
The four were charged Tuesday with preparing to forcibly take power as part of the partys drive to establish a Worldwide Islamic Caliphate, the FSB said in a statement.
The Bashkortostans FSB claims Hizb-ut Tahrirs activities in Bashkortostan have become more rigorous and provocative since 2010 and that 10 residents of Bashkortostan have been convicted of membership of the group.
Hizb-ut Tahrir says its aim is to lead the worlds Muslims so that Islam encapsulates the world, according to the groups website.
The Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based think tank, calls the group a clandestine, cadre-operated, radical Islamist political organization aimed at replacing the existing political regimes with a theocratic Muslim state. It claims the group actively works in 40 countries.
