Russian Underground Children and the Muslim Cult

About a week ago, Russian Police arrested four members of an Islamic sect after discovering 27 children and 38 adults who had been living deep underground in a purpose-built series of catacombs.

Some of the children had never even seen the light of day, with most of them in poor health and without access to education or other amenities most children can take for granted.

The members of the sect were found living up to eight stories underground in cold and cramped conditions, conditions which have been described a cell-like by local police.

All of the children have needed medical attention, with some suffering from tuberculosis. After receiving hospital treatment, the children have been placed under the temporary care of local orphanages and it is unlikely they will be returned to the cult. (1)

The raid by the Russian authorities in the village of Torfyanoy was a result of rising religious tensions in the Volga region of Tartarstan, the largest Muslim area of Russia. In the week before the raid, a deadly twin-attack had seen the leading Islamic scholar (Mufti) of the region, Ildus Faizov, targeted by a car bomb and his deputy shot and killed in another incident. (...)