KHUJAND, March 27, Asia-Plus — Another alleged activist of the outlawed religious extremist Hizb ut-Tahrir organization has got a long jail term in northern Tajikistan.
The 27-year-old resident of Khujand Jahongir Murodov faced charges under two articles of Tajikistan’s Criminal Code – inciting national, racial, regional or religious enmity (Article 189) and public calls for the violent overthrow of the government (Article 307), and the Sughd regional court ruled that Murodov be given 10 years in prison and that he should serve it in a high-security penal colony.
We will recall that the Supreme Court on March 11 formally labeled the banned Hizb ut-Tahrir Islamist group as an “extremist organization.” The ruling followed a request submitted to the court by Tajik chief prosecutor. Although the group has been outlawed in Tajikistan since 2000, the ruling means even tighter restrictions on Hizb ut-Tahrir’s presence on the Internet and its use of media to promote its ideology.
As it had been reported earlier, Tajik chief prosecutor Bobojon Bobokhonov announced on January 15, 2007 that the Supreme Court added ten entities to the Tajik government’s list of banned extremist organizations at the end of 2006. The list includes the Islamic Party of Turkestan, Harakati Tablighot, Jamiyati Tablighot, Al-Qaeda, Sozmoni Tablighot, and Tojikistoni Ozod (Free Tajikistan).
