Forum18 reports that in latest cases in Russia against Sunni Muslims who read the works of the late Turkish theologian Said Nursi, eight individuals are known to be facing charges in separate criminal investigations in four different cities.
Three of these four cases involve suspects who have previously been convicted of similar “extremism” offences within the last few years. All are being investigated by the FSB security service.
Five of the accused are being held in pre-trial detention in Federal Prison Service investigation prisons (subject to the Russian Justice Ministry), two since December 2015 and three since March 2016. Another two have been placed under travel restrictions.
Under Article 109 of the Criminal Procedural Code, individuals can initially be kept in custody for up to two months, and investigators must seek any necessary extensions to this period by application to a district court. Pre-trial detention in “extremist”-related prosecutions can generally be extended to a maximum of six months, with a maximum of one year in serious cases.
