Three Ingushetia residents have been convicted of aiding militants.

Three residents of Ingushetia, whom the court deemed to be accomplices of members of an illegal armed group, have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms.

The three defendants, who were in custody prior to the sentencing, were charged with two "terrorist" articles: aiding members of an international terrorist organization (Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code) and aiding members of an illegal armed group (Part 2 of Article 208 of the Russian Criminal Code). The first of these articles carries a prison sentence of ten to twenty years, the second - eight to fifteen years.

According to investigators, the defendants voluntarily joined the international terrorist organization in November-December 2023 and became active participants in its activities, assisting members of illegal armed groups operating in Ingushetia.

The court found that they stored military-grade firearms and ammunition at home and transported them in their personal vehicles, as well as improvised explosive devices "intended to commit acts of sabotage and terrorism," the Investigative Committee's Ingushetia Directorate reported today. The report did not specify which terrorist attacks were committed with their support.

The defendants were also found guilty of providing the militants with mobile phones and SIM cards, acquired "to support their illegal activities." One of the defendants, according to the verdict, observed the Sunzha-Alkhasty highway and informed the militants that there were no law enforcement officers on it.

The court sentenced the defendants to terms of imprisonment ranging from 12 to 14 years in a maximum-security penal colony. The investigators' statement did not specify the defendants' ages or occupations, nor did it indicate whether they had accepted the charges.

According to the records on the Southern District Military Court's website, Judge Timur Mashukov sentenced three defendants on the aforementioned charges on April 30. The case had been under review since February 2025, and the defendants' names were withheld from the records. Caucasian Knot has not yet received comments from the defendants' lawyers regarding their plans to appeal the verdict.

"Caucasian Knot" reported that on March 11, 2024, security forces reported the discovery of a cache of food and medicine on the outskirts of the village of Alkhasty in the Sunzhensky District. Security forces believe the cache belonged to militant Tagir Tsuroev, who was killed during a counterterrorism operation in Karabulak.

The next day, March 12, Ingush police reported that a resident of the village of Alkhasty had been detained in whose home a Kalashnikov assault rifle and an explosive device were found. Later, on March 22, a 33-year-old resident of the same village was detained who, according to law enforcement, had planted the previously discovered cache on Tsuroev's orders.

On March 26, it became known that 25-year-old Seid-Umar Imagozhev, winner of Russian and international jiu-jitsu tournaments, was suspected of having ties to the militants killed in Karabulak. The athlete was detained and, during interrogation, also revealed that he had helped Tagir Tsuroyev with weapons, who, according to him, was planning to "go off to jihad." However, at that time, Imagozhev was not charged with aiding the militants, but only with failure to report.

What is known about the counter-terrorism operation in Karabulak is described in the "Caucasian Knot" report "How the special operation in Karabulak was carried out".