Astrakhan Man First To Be Fined For Not Reporting Terrorism-Linked Crime

A court in Russia's southwestern region of Astrakhan bordering Kazakhstan has fined someone for the first time for not reporting terrorism-linked crimes to the authorities as required under a new law.

The Astrakhan regional prosecutor's office said on February 6 that a local resident, Ulugbek Gafurov, was found guilty of not reporting that a Kyrgyz citizen was a member of the Islamic State (IS) extremist group in Syria and Iraq.

Gafurov was fined 70,000 rubles ($1,185).

The Kyrgyz citizen was identified as Ravshan Akbarov, who was recently sentenced to eight years in jail for joining IS in 2015.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed legislation last July criminalizing not reporting a crime and containing other measures against terrorism.

The bill was named after an author of the document, lawmaker Irina Yarovaya.

Based on reporting by RIA Novosti and Interfax