Prosecutors in Russia's Tatarstan region have charged 17 people with planning a series of terrorist acts during last year's celebrations marking a millennium since the regional capital was founded, the prosecutor general's office said Thursday. The 17 defendants are accused of membership in an alleged terror group called Islamic Jamaat, and are charged with crimes including terrorism, illegal weapons possession and inciting religious hatred, a statement said.
Prosecutors have submitted the case to Tatarstan's Supreme Court, meaning it could go to trial soon. Investigators also claim the defendants carried out nine murders motivated by religion, and they also were charged with other crimes including abductions and illegal commercial activity, the statement said. |