OMSK. Feb 20 (Interfax) - The First Eastern District Military Court at an ad hoc hearing in Omsk sentenced Damir Usmanov, 26, a native of the Novosibirsk region, who was charged with participation in an illegal armed group on the territory of Syria, to 17 years in a high-security penal colony, the press service for the Russian Federal Security Service's Directorate for the Omsk region said.
According to the criminal case materials, Usmanov voluntarily arrived in the Syrian Arab Republic to participate in the activities of the illegal armed organization Islamic State [ISIL, terrorist group, banned in Russia]," the report said.
According to the report, he underwent two months of combat and ideological training in a training camp in the area of the city of al-Raqquah and swore his allegiance to the leader of the terrorist organization.
Officials from the Federal Security Service's Directorate found that Usmanov fought on the side of ISIL in the so-called Kazakh jamaat against the Syrian government forces in 2014 and sustained a concussion in clashes with the Syrian government troops in the area of the city of Al-Shaddadah.
During the subsequent active phase of the military operation of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria, Usmanov hid and lived on the territory of Turkey.
"As a result of the package of measures planned by the Federal Security Service [...] the man was convinced to return to Russia. He was detained by officials from the Federal Security Service's Directorate for the Omsk region upon arriving in the country in fall 2020," the agency said.
Usmanov was charged with undergoing training for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activities and participation in an illegal armed group. The First Eastern District Military Court has sentenced him to 17 years in a high-security colony. The man was taken into custody in the courtroom.