Man charged with plotting terrorist attacks in Moscow given life sentence

MOSCOW. June 17 (Interfax) - The Second Western District Military Court has found Tojiddin Nazarov, a leader of Islamic State (ISIL, a terrorist organization banned in Russia), guilty of plotting terrorist attacks in Russia and sentenced him to life in prison, the court told Interfax.

"The court has sentenced Nazarov to life at a special correctional institution," the court said on Friday.

Nazarov will have to serve the first eight years of his sentence in a prison.

Nazarov has also been fined 1.5 million rubles.

The court found him guilty of involvement in a terrorist organization, preparing a terrorist attack, and illegal trafficking in weapons and explosives.

The investigation found that Nazarov, aka Abu-Usama Noraki, joined Islamic State in 2014. In 2017, he became a so-called emir, a leader of the terrorist organization responsible for terrorist activities in Russia for the purpose of ending the operation in Syria.

The investigation found that Nazarov coordinated preparations for terrorist attacks in Russian cities. In particular, he organized a terrorist network in Moscow using a messenger app to commit terrorist attacks by driving vehicles into crowds of people near the buildings of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the presidential office, and the Defense Ministry and subsequently killing civilians.

Nazarov admitted his guilt partially.

Before 2020, Nazarov had been in Syria, where he was detained and extradited to Russia.