Chechnya upholds verdict against Arbi Dikaev

The Supreme Court (SC) of the Chechen Republic has upheld the verdict against 19-year-old Arbi Dikaev sentenced to five years of imprisonment for attempting to go to Syria to join the "Islamic State", recognized in Russia as a terrorist organization. Relatives of the young man do not agree with his verdict.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the native of the village of Komsomolskoe of the Grozny District was detained in January in the Mineralnye Vody airport while trying to fly to Turkey to go to Syria and to join the ranks of Islamic militants.

Local observers pay attention to the fact that the case contrasts to the similar investigation against Moscow resident Varvara Karaulova, who several months ago was detained in Turkey while trying to cross the Turkish-Syrian border and join the IS militants. Upon her return to Moscow, Varvara Karaulova had not been brought to justice.

Chechen activist Ruslan believes that the court has demonstratively imposed the sentence on Arbi Dikaev "as a warning to other young people sympathetic to caliphate."

Let us remind you that in May, in Chechnya, 23-year-old Aslan Bashaev, who, according to investigators, had been directly involved in the combat actions in Syria, was sentenced to the same term of imprisonment.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.