Russia’s Supreme Court on October 14 designated the Community of Followers of Batal-Haji Belkhoroev, known as the Batal-Hajis, as a terrorist organization and banned its activities in the country.
The case was brought by the Prosecutor General’s Office, and the ruling is subject to immediate enforcement.
The Supreme Court’s press service said the organization’s goals and activities involved the “promotion, justification and support of terrorism” and said members had been accused under several terrorism-related provisions of the Russian Criminal Code.
The Batal-Hajis are followers of Batal-Haji Belkhoroev, an Ingush religious figure who founded one of the region’s Sufi brotherhoods.
Russian security agencies have linked individual members of the community to several major criminal and terrorism cases. The FSB claims that members supplied weapons and ammunition to the perpetrators of the March 2024 attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall, while the Investigative Committee has alleged links to the 2009 bombing of the Nevsky Express train.
Those allegations originate from Russian law enforcement agencies. The Supreme Court’s ruling banning the organization as a whole does not mean that the court, in this proceeding, separately established the circumstances of every cited case or the involvement of every member of the community.
In 2023, a Russian court had already designated what authorities described as the Batal-Hajis’ “militant wing” as a terrorist organization.
Following the Supreme Court ruling, participation in or financing of the organization can carry criminal liability under Russian anti-terrorism legislation.