Russia jails man for not revealing IS-linked attack plan

SAINT PETERSBURG: A Russian court sentenced a man to two and a half years in prison for not reporting the suspected organisers of a planned terrorist attack, which the Kremlin says was foiled with US help.

In December last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin called his US counterpart Donald Trump to thank him for CIA intelligence on two people who were allegedly planning an attack on Saint Petersburg’s Kazan Cathedral, one of the city’s top tourist spots.

Shamil Omargadjeev, 37, was found guilty of failing to report a crime and possession of illegal firearms, Saint Petersburg’s Pushinsky court said in a statement.

Omargadjeev knew one of the alleged organisers, 18-yearold Evgeny Efimov, and heard several times about his ideological attachment to the Islamic State group and his plans to carry out an attack, the court said.

“On Nov 8, 2017, Efimov told Omargadjeev he had received an order to blow up the Kazan Cathedral,” the statement added.

“After having received this credible information, Omargadjeev did not report it to police.”

According to the court the defendant pleaded guilty.

The investigation into other suspects in the case continues.

A total of seven people were arrested at the end of 2017 after the Russian security service said it had broken up an Islamic State group cell that was planning to carry out a terrorist attack on Dec 16 in Russia’s second city. — AFP