Over 120 people involved in activity of terrorist organization detained in Moscow

On Monday Sergei Ignatchenko, chief of the Public relations center of the Russian Federal Security service (FSB) stated that officers of the Federal Security Service detained 121 people suspected of being involved in operations of the terrorist organization "Islamic Liberation Party".

He indicated that "they were hiding in the territory of one of Moscow works and they were detained there." Ignatchenko stressed that "the special operation carried out in Moscow was part of large-scale operative measures undertaken by Russian special services and the Ministry of Interior in all regions of the country." According to the chief of the FSB Public Relations center, 55 of the arrested people were already recognized as active members of the "Islamic Liberation Party". In relation to two of its leaders, Alisher Musayev, a citizen of Kyrgyzstan, and Akram Dzhalolov, a citizen of Tajikistan, criminal cases were already opened.

On February 14, 2003 the Russian Supreme Court on the basis of documents submitted by the Prosecutor General's office ruled to declare the "Islamic Liberation Party" one of 15 terrorist organizations banned in the territory of the Russian Federation. Major criteria to include the organization into the list of terrorist organizations were conduct of operations aimed at forcible transformation of the Russian constitutional system, contacts with illegal armed formations operating in the territory of the North Caucasian region, connections with or involvement in organizations recognized by the international community as being terrorist ones.