KHUJAND, January 10, 2009, Asia-Plus — A 41-year-old resident of the Navgilem jamoat (community) in Sughd’s Isfara district has been arrested on suspicion of being member of the outlawed Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and having provided assistance to the IMU activist, according to the Sughd police directorate.
The source at the Sughd police directorate said that investigators had every reason to suppose that the detainee joined the IMU in 1998 and had paid fees. “Besides, he had contacts with one of activities of this movement – a 41-yearold resident of the city of Isfara, whose name is not disclosed in the interest of investigation,” the source said.
He added that it could not be ruled out that the detainee had been harboring the mentioned IMU activist. It is also supposed that by order of the activist the detainee has traveled to Moscow to transfer money to the IMU fund, according to the source.
Criminal proceedings have been instituted against the detainee under the provisions of Article 187, Part 2 of Tajikistan’s Penal Code – organization of criminal grouping, and an investigation is under way.
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) is a militant Islamist group formed in 1998 by Juma Namangoni and Tohir Yuldoshev – both ethnic Uzbeks from the Ferghana Valley. Its objective was to overthrow President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan and to create an Islamic state under Sharia. The MU launched a series of audacious raids into Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in 1999 and 2000.
However, in 2001 the IMU was largely destroyed while fighting alongside the Taliban against US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan. According to media, Namangoni was killed, and the IMU”s remaining fighters were dispersed. In June 2001, the IMU changed its name to the Islamic Party of Turkistan (IMT), and the IMU/IMT is reportedly remains as operational force, expanding its original goal of establishing an Islamic state in Uzbekistan to the creation of an Islamic state in all of Central Asia.
