Activists of extremist religious organization Nurjular to stand trial in Novosibirsk

"A cell of the international extremist religious organization Nurjular has been crushed in Novosibirsk," the Russian Interior Ministry told Interfax.

Files of a criminal case, started against this organization, with an indictment attached, have been referred to a court in Novosibirsk, it said.

The Interior Ministry's regional center for combating extremism received intelligence in 2009 indicating that a cell of this banned religious organization was active in Novosibirsk, the ministry's press service said.

"Center E for combating extremism carried out a search operation between 2009 and 2012, establishing the identities of the cell's leaders and active members, their contacts in other Russian regions and abroad, as well as videos showing people reading extremist literature, popularizing the radical ideology and recruiting new members," a ministry spokesman said.

A criminal case was started against the leaders and active members of the local organization, based on the intelligence provided by Center E, the Novosibirsk police and the regional branch of the Federal Security Service.