Russian sect found after nearly a decade

[Ban Hammer 13,333]

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Seventy members of an Islamist sect who have been living in an underground bunker without heat or sunlight for nearly a decade have been discovered living on the outskirts of the city of Kazan in Russia, local media reported.

The sect members included 20 children, the youngest of whom had just turned 18 months. Many of them were born underground and had never seen daylight until the prosecutors discovered their dwelling on August 1 and sent them for health checks.

A 17-year-old girl turned out to be pregnant.

Religion was suppressed in the Soviet Union which collapsed in 1991, prompting various cults and sects to flourish in the vacuum that opened up.

The group - known as the "Fayzarahmanist" sect - was named after its 83-year-old organiser Fayzrahman Satarov, who declared himself a prophet and his house an independent Islamic state, according to a report by state TV channel Vesti.

Satarov was described as a former deputy to a Sunni Islamic cleric in the 1970s. His followers were encouraged to read his manuscripts and most were banned from leaving their eight-storey underground bunker which had been dug in the basement of a building, Vesti said.

Prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into the sect and have said it will be disbanded if it continues its illegal activities, such as stopping its members from seeking medical assistance or education.

No arrests have been made although police are likely to look into suspicions that some of the children were being abused. A court will decide whether the children will be allowed to stay with their parents.

Kazan is located 800 km (497 miles) east of Moscow in Tatarstan, a majority Muslim internal Russian republic.

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[^_^ 5,021]

i question what benefit such a story brings to this site.

[justashooter 430]

i question what benefit such a story brings to this site.

cultural reference in a site that encourages/facilitates intercultural connection.

it's all about understanding and accepting the other guy, despite his deviance, isn't it?

[Ban Hammer 13,333]

i question what benefit such a story brings to this site.

i wonder how much ammo they had!

[SMR 368]

Kazan is a really screwed up place, in general. It's kind of an extremist Islamic hold-out in Russia.

[^_^ 5,021]

cultural reference in a site that encourages/facilitates intercultural connection.

it's all about understanding and accepting the other guy, despite his deviance, isn't it?

Charles knows what I was getting at. You don't.

[X Factor 1,112]

The children are the real victims. They are messed up for life.

[JohnR! 5,495]

i question what benefit such a story brings to this site.

I think the Russians made fun of us during the Kerfuffle in Waco with the Christian fundamentalists or Warren Jeff's and his harem or concubines.

This is payback, apparently....

[Harsh_77 718]

Must be really good preppers.....lol

How did they manage the food and water for such a long time?

[X Factor 1,112]

And what about lack of exposure to the sun ... they must be sickly looking.

[Ban Hammer 13,333]

woulda been better if he'd named his sect "the morlocks"

[Danno 1,228]

The children are the real victims. They are messed up for life.

Maybe they are maybe they aren't. For one thing they were never exposed to that sh_ty russian techno music every taxi driver seems to love.

[X Factor 1,112]

Maybe they are maybe they aren't. For one thing they were never exposed to that sh_ty russian techno music every taxi driver seems to love.

You have a point. The music today sucks. Garbage in - garbage out.

[mawilson 2,133]

woulda been better if he'd named his sect "the morlocks"

The name was already taken, so they had to go with Fayzarahmanist. Close enough.

[X Factor 1,112]

The name was already taken, so they had to go with Fayzarahmanist. Close enough.

Yea very close.