DUSHANBE, January 27, 2016, Asia-Plus – The Russian Supreme Court has upheld the North Caucasus District Military Court’s verdict against Tajik national Khurshedjon Mihtojov, who is charged with recruiting Russian citizens into illegal armed formations fighting in Syria and illegally keeping narcotic drugs.

Russian newspaper Kommersant reports that the North Caucasus District Military Court sentenced Mihtojov to seven years in prison last autumn.

The sentence followed his conviction on charges of involving a person in terrorist activities and illegally keeping narcotic drugs.

Meanwhile, Mihtojov has denied his guilt.  According to him, he just wanted to marry a woman from Stavropol and to go to Syria to shoot documentary about misery of the Syrian people.

That was not the first case of detention of Tajik nationals in Russia for propagating Islamic extremism.

We will recall that a court in the Russian city of Kolchugino (Vladimir oblast) convicted the 19-year-old Mavzouna Mazoriyeva for propagating religious extremism on January 12.  The court reportedly ruled that Mazoriyeva should pay a fine of 100,000 Russian rubles (RR).

According to the website of the Vladimir Oblast Prosecutor’s Office, Mazoriyeva stood trial on terrorism propaganda charges.  Criminal proceedings were reportedly instituted against her under the provisions of Article 280 (2) of Russia’s Penal Code – public calls for extremist activities.

Mazoriyeva had reportedly placed materials propagating religious extremism on the Internet, calling to carrying out extremist activity.

Mavzouna Mazoriyeva fully admitted her guilt, the Vladimir Oblast Prosecutor’s Office said.

A court in Russia''s northwestern city of Arkhangelsk sentenced a Tajik man to three years in prison on November 11, 2015.  The 20-year-old Shahboz Azimov, who was detained in April last year, was found guilty of inciting hatred, making public calls for terrorism, and publicly justifying terrorism via the Internet.

Investigators say that Azimov had placed materials on the Internet calling on Muslims in Russia to launch jihad against non-Muslims and to join Islamic militants in Iraq and Syria. 

Police say they found booklets and electronic materials with text propagating religious extremism in Azimov''s residence in Arkhangelsk.