According to media outlets in Russia, 70 people belonging to an Islamic sect in Russia were found living in an underground bunker. They were living in the bunker without sunlight or heat just outside the city of Kazan. There are 20 children in the sect, with the youngest being 18-months-old. The people are believed to have been living underground for close to a decade.
The underground bunker was discovered on August 1 and most of the children with the sect had never seen daylight. Once health checks were performed, it was discovered that a 17-year-old was pregnant. The sect is known as Fayzarahmanist sect and is named after its founder, 83-year-old Fayzrahman Satarov. Satarov originally said that he is a prophet and claimed his house to be an independent Islamic state.
According to Vesti, a state TV channel, Satarov was a former deputy to a Sunni Islamic cleric back in the decade of the 1970s. The followers of Satarov were not permitted to exit their underground bunker, which was eight stories and was built in a building’s basement. A criminal investigation has been started regarding the sect and if it continues to operate illegally then it will be disbanded. The sect’s illegal operations include preventing members to seek health assistance and education.
There have yet to be any arrests in connection with the case but authorities are going to investigate their suspicions that children were abused in the bunker. Whether or not the children are allowed to be with their parents is a matter that will be decided by a court.