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May 19, 2006
Tajikistan: Ten Islamists Of Hizb Ut-Tahrir Are Jailed
90% of Tajikistan's population is Muslim. The nation has a secular constitution, and on October 19 the hijab or Muslim headscarf was banned from Tajik schools. The nation was invaded by Russia during the 1860s and 1870s, but still struggled against Russian influence. From 1925, when Tajikistan accepted Bolshevik rule, to 1991 when it gained independence, the country was part of the Soviet Empire.
A report today in Radio Free Europe states that 10 people have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms for being members of the group Hizb ut-Tahrir.
The 10 individuals appeared in court in Khujand in the northern region of Sughd, or Sogdi. Their sentences ranged from nine to 16 years. Their convictions were for inciting social discord, and calling for the overthrow of the government.
On May 1, Interfax reported that four women were arrested in the Bobojongafur district of Sogdi for suspected membership of Hizb ut-Tahrir. Whether these were among those jailed in Khujand is not yet known.
The group Hizb ut-Tahrir, founded in 1952 in Jerusalem by an Islamic jurist, Taqiuddin al-Nabhani, has a title that means "Party of Liberation". It aims to reestablish the Caliphate, the pan-national Islamic state. For this reason, Hizb ut-Tahrir is banned in most Middle Eastern Countries, as well as Germany, Russia, and countries which formerly were in the Soviet Union, such as Tajikistan and its neighbours Kyrgystan and Uzbekistan. It is also banned in Bashkortostan and Tatarstan.
The last Caliphate was that of the Ottomans, which was disbanded by Kemal Ataturk in 1924.
In 2003, about 34 Hizb ut-Tahrir members were jailed in Tajikistan. This increased to 70 in 2004, with nine receiving sentences in September of 13 to 15 years' jail for crimes of organising a criminal group, inciting national, racial, religious and ethnic strife. And in 2005, 99 were arrested. 16 of these were women. 74 criminal cases were prosecuted in 2005 against the 99 arrestees.
In the first five months of 2006, 22 people in Tajikistan were arrested on suspicion of being members of Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at May 19, 2006 11:43 PM
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