(AhlulBayt News Agency) - The house arrest of an imam of Moscow's Yardyam mosque, Makhmud Velitov, charged with justifying terrorism, has been extended until October 27, Moscow's Butyrsky District Court ruled.
"The court hereby rules that the investigator's request for the house of arrest of the accused Velitov to be extended until October 27 be granted," Judge Alexey Voronin read out the decision.
The investigators earlier asked for extension of the imam's house arrest.
The court placed Velitov under house arrest on July 12 after he was charged with "public calls for terrorist activities or public justification of terrorism." This article imposes a penalty of two to five years of imprisonment.
According to investigators, in September 2013 Velitov, while being a council head and imam of a religious organization, delivered a public speech during prayers at the mosque in north-eastern Moscow, which can accommodate some 2,000 worshipers. In his speech, the imam allegedly justified activities of a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami (Islamic Party of Liberation) group, which is considered a terrorist organization and banned in Russia.
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