A citizen of Tajikistan was convicted in Rostov-on-Don for preparing to leave for ISIS*.

The military court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Abdumajid Dzhonikulov to eight years in prison for preparing to leave for Syria to join the militants of the "Islamic State"*.

Dzhonikulov was charged with preparing to participate in the activities of a terrorist organization and preparing to participate in an armed formation on the territory of a foreign state for purposes contrary to the interests of Russia (part 1 of article 30 in conjunction with part 2 of article 205.5 and part 2 of article 208 of the Criminal Code of Russia). The first article provides for a sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison, the second - from eight to 15 years. For preparation for a crime, the punishment cannot exceed half of the maximum term.

According to the prosecution's version, from August 1 to September 23, 2025, Dzhonikulov, while in Novorossiysk, corresponded with a person whom the investigation considers a member of the "Islamic State"*. From him, the accused received information about the ways and routes of entering Syria via Turkey to participate in hostilities.

From September 23 to 30, Dzhonikulov informed his interlocutor that he intended to use the proposed method and leave for Syria. On September 25, he began searching the internet for flight tickets from Sochi to Istanbul. His activities were stopped on October 1, 2025, the press service of the Southern District Military Court reported.

Dzhonikulov was sentenced to eight years in prison, the first three years he must spend in prison, the remaining term - in a strict regime colony. The sentence has not yet entered into legal force and can be appealed in the Military Court of Appeals. It is not specified in the court's message whether Dzhonikulov admitted his guilt. The "Caucasian Knot" currently has no comments from the convicted person or his lawyer regarding plans to appeal the sentence.

The convicted person is a citizen of Tajikistan, and the regional FSB department investigated the criminal case. The court also confiscated a mobile phone for the benefit of the state, which, according to the prosecution, was used to commit crimes, the Krasnodar Territory Prosecutor's Office reported.

The age of Dzhonikulov, his occupation, and the circumstances of his stay in Russia are not provided in the reports of the agencies. As of 0:50 Moscow time on August 5, he is not listed in the register of terrorists and extremists of Rosfinmonitoring.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that the military court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced a resident of Kaspiysk, Artur Umarov, to five years in prison for attempting to leave for Turkey and join the militants.

* the organization is recognized as terrorist and banned in Russia.

** the activities of the Meta company (which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) are banned in Russia.