Under the supervision of the Prosecutor General’s Office, the SBU investigation helped to sentence two foreigners to 10 years and 3 months in prison for setting up a channel of terrorist militants smuggling to Syria and Iraq. 

The pre-trial investigation established that in Kharkiv region, two natives of one of the Transcaucasian countries set up a smuggling point of mercenaries for the international terrorist organization “Islamic State”. In 2013-2015, the smugglers "received" ISIS members from the republics of the North Caucasus of Russia, the countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia. They then sent them in transit through Ukraine to the Syrian-Iraqi zone to take part in hostilities on the side of ISIS. The accomplices also provided them with funds, housing and travel documents.

The SBU operatives documented that the criminals constantly coordinated their actions with the leaders of the "Islamic State" who were in Turkey and Syria. The suspects regularly received financial and other assistance from them to support terrorist activities.

The Security Service of Ukraine also established that in October 2013, the convicts provided financial and material support to the militant to prepare and commit a terrorist act in one of the Central Asian countries.

During searches of the convicts' residences and their vehicles, law enforcement officers confiscated the symbolics of the Islamic State terrorist organization, grenades, explosives, electric detonators, short-barreled firearms and ammunition. They also found a large number of driver's licenses and IDs of citizens of Central Asia, Russia, the European Union and Ukraine, equipment for the manufacture of counterfeit seals and stamps, disks with photos of militants used to produce forged documents, payment cards of banks in different countries.

During the trial, the illegal activity of foreigners documented by the Security Service of Ukraine was fully confirmed.

The court found the suspects guilty in committing the crimes stipulated by Part 1 Article 258-3 and Part 2 Article 258-5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The Prosecutor's Office of Kharkiv region supported the accusation in court.

Note:

The actions of the convicts go against the current legislation of Ukraine. According to UN Security Council Resolution 1267 (1999), Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) is a group that has seceded from the international terrorist organization Al Qaeda and is put in the list of terrorist organizations formed by the UN Security Council Committee under No. QE.J.115.04. On June 29, 2014, ISIS was renamed as the Islamic State.

According to UN Security Council Resolutions 2170 (2014), 2178 (2014), 2199 (2015), the activities of the Islamic State are associated with the commission of numerous criminal acts of terrorism aimed at killing civilians and other victims, destroying property and cultural, religious sites and the undermining of world stability, leads to devastating humanitarian impact on the civilian population, forced displacement of millions of people and provocation of inter-religious tensions, crimes against humanity and international law and order, etc.