US designates Russian Imperial Movement as terrorist group

WASHINGTON • The United States has designated a Russian ultranationalist group called the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) as a terrorist organisation, the State Department has said, in what it called the first such move against a white supremacist group.

"These designations are unprecedented," Mr Nathan Sales, US Counter-Terrorism envoy, said.

"RIM is still very much in the business of providing training to like-minded Neo-Nazis and white supremacists across Europe. We know that they have recruited individuals from other countries in Europe and continue to do so," he said in a teleconference with reporters.

The move freezes any assets that RIM may have in America and it denies it any access to the US financial system, Mr Sales said. He added that the measure would not be just a symbolic one even if the group may not have any assets in the US because these measures have a significant crippling effect on such groups' ability to move money internationally.

The measure comes after the State Department, in its latest annual terrorism report last November, said ethnically and racially driven terrorism had risen alarmingly in 2018 both worldwide and in the United States.

RIM members cast themselves as Russian Orthodox nationalists who favour restoring the monarchy and privileging the interests of ethnic Russians, Ukrainians and Belarussians.

Mr Sales said RIM has "innocent blood on its hands" and cited a series of attacks from late 2016 in the Swedish city of Gothenburg by two members who had received paramilitary-style training in Russia.

The Swedish authorities arrested, tried and convicted the attackers, Mr Sales said.

"The prosecutor who handled their case blamed RIM for radicalising them and providing the training that enabled the attacks."

Mr Sales declined to say whether Monday's designation was communicated to the Russian government ahead of time. He also did not say if Washington believes Moscow is linked to the group.

Mr Sales added that Trump administration's efforts to counter "white supremacist terrorism" abroad will continue.

"We're bringing all of our counter-terrorism tools to this fight - information sharing, counter-messaging, combating terrorist travel, engaging with tech companies, and building partner capacity to protect soft targets like synagogues and mosques."

The US State Department is also specifically blacklisting three people - Stanislav Anatolyevich Vorobyev, Denis Valliullovich Gariev and Denis Valliullovich Gariev - who are deemed to be leaders of the group.

REUTERS