Former Russian officer sentenced to 19 years for IS ties

Denis Khisamov, a former officer of the Russian Defense Ministry, was sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 19 years for participating in activities of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, Russia's North Caucasus District Military Court in the city of Rostov-on-Don ruled Tuesday.

The court also ruled to restrict Khisamov's liberty for another year and strip him of his military rank of a reserve captain, Tass news agency reported.

According to the court's statement, Khisamov received training in an IS camp in Syria, participated in armed clashes and carried out other task assignments such as monitoring all parties to the Syrian conflict and recruiting supporters.

Tass reported that Khisamov quit service from a subordinate research institute of the defense ministry with the rank of reserve captain in 2009 and was arrested in Turkey in 2017 after years of participation in terrorist activities in Syria.

The Russian Federal Security Service initiated legal proceedings and investigations into this case.