Fifty-five members of an Islamist group, Hizb-ut-Tahrir (Liberation Party), were arrested in Moscow by the security services, the FSB, on Saturday, in one of the broadest crackdowns on Muslim organisations in Russia. After a swoop on a factory in the outskirts of Moscow, 121 central Asians were arrested, most of whom were illegal immigrants. This included 55 suspected members of Hizb-ut-Tahrir, and the heads of its Moscow cell, Alisher Musayev and Akram Dzhalolov. The FSB said the two were in possession of plastic explosive, grenades, TNT and two detonators. The arrest follows a growing climate of suspicion towards foreign Muslims in Russia. Hizb-ut-Tahrir is linked to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which is in turn connected to al-Qaida. In February Russia’s courts named Hizb-ut-Tahrir and 14 other groups as sponsors of terrorism. The US and Germany have blacklisted the group, yet other western states remain unconvinced. Full Story
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