Tatarstan's Supreme Court Disbands Muslim Group

The Supreme Court of Russia's republic of Tatarstan has ordered that the Al-Ikhlas Muslim religious group be disbanded for what it called "extremist activities."

About 50 Al-Ikhlas members were present at the May 15 hearing in the republic's capital, Kazan.

They say they will appeal.

In January, Kazan police evicted members of the Al-Ikhlas community from their mosque for "failure to repair the building," which belonged to the city.

In 2009, one of the Al-Ikhlas imams, Rustem Safin, received a suspended jail term for taking part in the activities of a banned Islamic group, Hizb ut-Tahrir.

He was also fined for organizing illegal public gatherings. Authorities have accused him of using symbols associated with extremist Islam.

Based on reporting by tatar-inform.ru and Interfax