Muslim woman sentenced over 'extremist' article
A Russian woman was given a suspended jail term by a Moscow court on Thursday for distributing material that prosecutors said contained "calls for terrorism", RIA Novosti reported.
Tatyana Tarasova, a convert to Islam, was convicted of posting an "extemist" article on the Internet when she was chief editor of a website belonging to the Muslim rights group Islamic Committee in 2008. She was given a suspended sentence of one year and six months.
Tarasova pleaded guilty to the offence.
In sentencing, Judge Mikhail Otkin said a real jail term would be "excessively harsh."
Security officers raided the home of Islamic Committee leader Geidar Dzhemal in March this year over the article, "The Role of Women in Jihad," which it said cited "instances of Muslim women taking part in terrorist attacks, including against the Russian military in the republic of Chechnya, and urges readers to follow suit."
Dzhemal described the raid as an "act of intimidation."
In 2009, a lower house deputy called for the Islamic Committee to be declared an extremist organization and charges to be brought against Dzhemal.
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