DUSHANBE, June 22, Asia-Plus – Three activists of the banned extremist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir al Islami in Magnitogorsk have been sentenced to seven months in prison, the press service Federal Security Service department in the Chelyabinsk region reported on Thursday.

Investigators said the defendants had acquired extremist literature, circulated leaflets among citizens, and recruited candidates to their organization.

The Magnitogorsk grassroot was led by resident of the town. He was trained at an Islamic university in Pakistan and did not conceal the fact that he was an advocate of hardline Islam.

Police searched his apartment and found videos of terrorist attacks in Chechnya. He also kept photos of destroyed buildings and schematics of homemade bombs in his computer.

It is the third criminal case against Hizb ut-Tahrir in the Chelyabinsk region, considered by courts.