Number of solved extremist crimes steadily grew for 10 years - Kolokoltsev
MOSCOW. March 25 (Interfax) - The number of identified extremist offenses has been steadily growing during the past ten years with over 1,000 of them being recorded last year alone, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev told the Federation Council on Wednesday.
"The factor of extremism must be taken into account in evaluating the crime scene in the country. During the past 10 years we have observed a steady increase in the number of manifestations of extremism identified by law enforcement bodies. Last year over 1,000 of them were recorded. The number of individuals committing such offenses grew by a quarter. The bulk of the increase was achieved through the identification of extremist crimes on the Internet," the Interior Ministry press center quotes Kolokoltsev as saying.
The minister described as an important task in this sphere coordinated efforts to restrict access to prohibited content and harmful web resources. Last year the number of extremist offenses involving the use of the Internet jumped by almost 39%. Over 2,000 extremist materials were removed from the web, access to over 700 was blocked, and charges were brought agaisnt some 1,000 offenders.
Kolokoltsev said that the operations of eight extremist and two terrorist organizations were banned thanks to the joint efforts with the prosecutor's office, investigative bodies and the Federal Security Service (FSB). Over 350 extremist materials added to the federal list.
"Scores of thousands of banned extremist materials were confiscated in the framework of operative measures and searches," the press center quotes Kolokoltsev as saying.
He named as a special task joint steps with FSB to resist terrorism as the ultimate form of extremism.