The designation of the Batal-Haji religious community in Ingushetia as a terrorist organization could lead to further prosecution of its followers, including people who have not been accused of committing crimes, according to an investigation by Novaya Gazeta Europe published on October 17.
On October 14, Russia's Supreme Court designated the Batal-Haji community as a terrorist organization and banned its activities throughout the country.
The Batal-Haji community consists of followers of the Sufi religious leader Batal-Haji Belkhoroyev, who lived in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Ingush village of Surkhakhi is regarded as the community's spiritual center.
The exact number of followers is unknown. One representative of the community previously estimated its membership at 25,000 to 30,000 people.
Russian security agencies have linked individual members of the community to serious crimes, including murders, financing armed groups and terrorist attacks.
However, as the newspaper notes, criminal convictions against individual defendants do not automatically establish the responsibility of every member of the religious community.
The journalists also examined the community's relationship with Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.
Kadyrov has repeatedly defended the Batal-Haji community and criticized Russian security agencies' actions against some of its members.
In 2022, he publicly challenged the characterization of the community as terrorist and expressed support for its followers.
Relations between the Belkhoroyev and Kadyrov families have a long history. According to sources interviewed by Novaya Gazeta Europe, the relationship reflects not only religious ties but also political interests in the North Caucasus.
After the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, members of the Batal-Haji community formed their own unit within the Akhmat forces associated with Kadyrov. Their participation in the war against Ukraine, however, did not prevent further criminal prosecutions of community members.
In 2022, a Russian court had already designated the so-called militant wing of the Batal-Haji community as a terrorist organization. The October 14, 2026, ruling extended the ban to the entire religious community.
The newspaper highlights the uncertainty surrounding the consequences of the ruling. The Batal-Haji community has no single official membership register, and affiliation is often determined through family and religious ties.
Human rights advocates and experts interviewed by the journalists believe this creates a risk that criminal prosecution could extend to people who continue to participate in the community's ordinary religious life.
Human rights advocates also question some allegations made by security agencies about connections between the Batal-Haji community and terrorist organizations.
The Supreme Court's brief statement announcing the ban does not explain how the entire religious community was found responsible for crimes allegedly committed by individual people.
The ultimate consequences of the ruling for ordinary believers remain unclear.