Russian state-run news agency say Russia’s Supreme Court have removed Afghanistan's Taliban movement from its list of banned terrorist groups.
TASS reports that in its ruling on April 17, the Supreme Court sided with a petition from the Prosecutor-General's Office, who designated the Taliban as a terrorist organization more than 20 years ago.
"The decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation has suspended the previously established ban on the activities of the 'Taliban' movement, which had been included in the unified federal list of organizations recognized as terrorist," announced Judge Oleg Nefyodov.
The decision takes effect immediately.
The session was held in closed mode.
RBC notes that after amendments were made to the federal law "On Counteracting Terrorism" last year, the 'Taliban' organization became the first to be removed from the terrorist list. According to the changes, a decision to suspend the ban on the organization's activities can be made by the court if it ceases its activities aimed at propaganda, justification, or support of terrorism, as well as committing these crimes. The explanatory note to the amendments stated that the creation of such a mechanism was aimed at eliminating a legal gap.
The suspension of the terrorist designation does not amount to full diplomatic recognition of the Taliban government.
Russia officially banned the Taliban in 2003, aligning itself with international counterterrorism standards and reflecting concerns over jihadist movements in Central Asia and Russia's North Caucasus region.
