"The groups of youngsters have grown more aggressive, organized and politicized, while some of them are under criminal organizations' influence," Yury Demidov, deputy head of the Interior Ministry's central department for fighting organized crime, said at a news briefing.
Unlawful acts committed by such groups have become more frequent recently, according to Mr. Demidov.
Therefore criminal police have made intensive efforts to uncover radical youth groups and dissociate them this year. In Voronezh, for example, police successfully investigated the murder of a medical academy student from Guinea-Bissau, which was committed in February 2004. "Three Voronezh residents were charged with murder and taken into custody," said Mr. Demidov. The case is being tried in court now, according to the police official.
Mr. Demidov said the murder of Khurshida Sultonova, a 9-year-old girl from Tajikistan, which had taken place in St. Petersburg in February 2004, had also been uncovered. "Seven persons involved in the crime have been identified, three of them are in custody," said Mr. Demidov.
Besides, law enforcers put a stop to the activities of radical youth groups in some of Central Russia's regions. "Sixteen persons were convicted, 4 are on trial," added Mr. Demidov.
Four members of the Russian National Unity radical youth organization have been brought to account.
Mr. Demidov said fighting against extremism and its most dangerous form, terrorism, was the Interior Ministry's urgent priority.
In March 2004, a Moscow prosecutor's office opened criminal proceedings against Khasymakhunov, a leader of the Islamic Liberation Party blamed by the Uzbek authorities for recent terrorist acts in Tashkent and the Bukhara region. Khasymakhunov is in custody.
Besides, police detained three activists of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan terrorist organization in Togliatti, Volga Area, and Ufa, Urals, within May and June 2004. They were on the international wanted list for a series of grave crimes, including terrorism-related ones. Law enforcers are considering extraditing them to Uzbekistan.
Mr. Demidov recalled another successful operation the Interior Ministry had conducted in that sphere. "Mirov, a Tajik national, was arrested in Penza (Central Russia) on suspicion of blowing up residential houses and a public center building in Dushanbe," said Mr. Demidov.
Mirov is known to have undergone training at a terrorist base in an Arab country. "The Prosecutor General's Office is considering extraditing him," said Mr. Demidov.
