Crimean Tatars Go on Trial for Joining Islamist 'Terrorist' Group

A military court in southern Russia on Wednesday held the first full hearing in the trial of four Crimean Tatars accused of joining a radical Islamist group.

Armed officers from Russia's FSB security service detained the men in raids on homes in the Crimean town of Bakhchysaray on May 12.

The Russian authorities have cracked down on the Crimean Tatars since annexing the Black Sea peninsula in 2014 in a move opposed by the most of the indigenous Muslim community who were deported to the region under Stalin.

The investigation found "all four of the defendants took part in the activities of the terrorist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir until they were detained by FSB (security service) officers," the court said in a statement.

Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation) seeks to establish a pan-Islamic state called a caliphate. The group is not illegal in Ukraine, but has been banned in Russia since 2003.

One of the men faces up to 20 years in jail as the organiser of a "terrorist cell", while the others could serve 10 years as participants.

At the hearing in the city of Rostov-on-Don, the men pleaded their innocence, lawyer Oksana Zheleznyak told AFP.

"Our defendants do not acknowledge guilt in the crimes they are accused of," she said.

The men "distributed propaganda among the public and incited the populace to take part in the group's activities," court spokeswoman Alyona Katkalo told AFP.

One of the men, Ruslan Zeitullayev, is accused of organizing a "terrorist cell" of the group in 2014 and acting as a recruiter for the others.

The verdict in their case is expected by the end of the month.