SARANSK. March 24 (Interfax) - A court in the town of Saransk issued an in absentia order that a 43-year-old resident of the village of Belozerye in Mordovia's Romodanovsky district, accused of membership in an illegal armed formation, be remanded into custody.
The man left for Pakistan five years ago to study the Arabic language and radical ideas in Islam, a spokesperson for the Leninsky District Court said on Monday.
"In November 2013, he moved to one of northwestern provinces of Syria where he joined anti-government forces seeking to topple the legitimate government in this country and build a theocratic state, the Universal Islamic Caliphate," the spokesperson said.
According to the inquiry, the Mordovia native had bought an automatic rifle to join the rebels.
At the moment, he faces charges under Article 208 part two of the Russian Criminal Code (participation in an illegal armed formation in a foreign country, for purposes contradicting the interests of the Russian Federation).
On March 16, 2015, the accused was declared an international fugitive.
The court also granted an investigator's request to detain the man for two months starting from the day of his apprehension, the spokesperson said.
It was reported earlier that in early March the Moskovsky district military court sentenced another Belozerye resident, Ravil Abdullov, to five years at a medium-security prison for abetting terrorism
According to the inquiry, Abdullov sent $1,300 to his relative, who was fighting in Syria as a member of anti-government forces of that country. The relative used the money to buy himself an automatic rifle.