A Russian man found guilty of leading a terrorist cell has been sentenced to 12 years in prison by a St. Petersburg court.
Isa Ragimov, from Russia's southern republic of Dagestan, was found guilty of organizing a cell for pan-Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir, the RIA Novosti news agency reported Monday.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) claim to have since arrested a further six cell members since Ragimov's arrest in April 2015.
Activists have repeatedly criticized Russia's decision to classify the group as terrorist.
“We have repeated many times that the Russian Supreme Court had no basis for calling Hizb ut-Tahrir a terrorist organization," human rights group Memorial said in a statement in September. "At the moment, there is not a single case of members trying to commit or preparing to organize a terrorist attack anywhere in the world.”
Hizb ut-Tahrir is a terrorist organization banned in Russia.
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