A Russian national has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for allegedly plotting a terror attack in the country’s east, state media reported Wednesday.
A total of 20 terror attacks were prevented by security forces in 2018, the first deputy chief of Russia’s Anti-Terrorism Committee told reporters earlier this year. According to the committee’s figures, the number of terror-related crimes has decreased 24-fold from 2012.
A Khabarovsk court sentenced the 43-year-old resident on several terror-related charges, including allegedly preparing an explosive device in the town of Nikolayevsk-on-Amur, the state-run TASS news agency reported, citing the local branch of the Federal Security Service (FSB).
According to the FSB’s statement cited by TASS, the suspect planned to travel to Syria after detonating the device to fight alongside Islamic State, a terror organization banned in Russia.