Bulgarians among group jailed by Czech court for forging documents
A court in the Czech Republic has jailed a group of seven, including two Bulgarians, four Russians and a Moldovan, for three to five years for forging documents.
In May 2011, the Czech interior ministry announced the arrest of a group of eight, reportedly after a surveillance operation that had started in 2008 after a tip-off by German authorities, on charges of falsifying and distributing dozens of identity documents for Dagestanis.
A charge of supporting terrorism by working with Islamist organisation Jamaat Shariat was dismissed by the court for lack of evidence. The court instead found that the group had been involved in organised crime, saying that while it was possible that some of the forged documents could fall into the hands of terrorists, this was not identical with supporting terrorism.
Jamaat Shariat was founded in 1999 with the aim of creating and Islamic state and establishing Sharia law throughout the north Caucasus.
(Photo: Zákupák)