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Islamists jailed in Tajikistan for organzing armed group for a coup
DUSHANBE - A court in Tajikistan handed down prison sentences of
three to nine years Wednesday to seven people accused of belonging to
an outlawed Islamic group Hizbi Tahrir and agitating for the
overthrow of the Central Asian country's government.
 "They (the terrorists) were found guilty of fomenting
racial and religious hatred, organising an armed group, calling for
the overthrow of the government, and participating in an extremist
group and illegal party," said Sadyk Kurbanov, the judge
Photo Credits:Terrorism ____
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"They were found guilty of fomenting racial and religious hatred,
organising an armed group, calling for the overthrow of the
government, and participating in an extremist group and illegal
party," said Sadyk Kurbanov, the judge in the northern Sogd district.
"The extremists, among whom were two students, were arrested six
months ago while handing out Islamic leaflets in a local market.
During searches of their home Hizbi Takhrir literature was found," he
told AFP.
The Islamist terrorist outfit Hizbi Tahrir, or the Freedom Party, was
founded in the 1950s in the Middle East and is considered one of the
most active fundamentalist Islamic organisations. Thousands of people
in Muslim Central Asia are believed to be members.
The party's main goal in Central Asia, which was under Communist rule
until the Soviet collapse in 1991, is the creation of a religious
state throughout the region.
Some 400 people, including 15 this year, have been arrested in
Tajikistan over the last five years due to alleged links to Hizbi
Tahrir.
Story Credits:Turkish Press
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