QURHGOIN TEPPA, September 13, 2012, Asia-Plus — One more resident of the village of Qizil Nishon in the Qubodiyon district, Khatlon province has been jailed for membership in the banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU).
A court in the Qubodiyon district sentenced Asliddin Navrouzov, resident of the village o Qizil Nishon, to eight years in prison on September 11. The sentence followed his conviction on charges of organizing a criminal group.
“According to investigators, my client allegedly joined the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and he had a constant communication over the phone with persons who have been wanted by police on suspicion of being members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan,” Navrouzov’s lawyer Tolib Artiqov told Asia-Plus in an interview. The lawyer noted that he would appeal against the verdict.
Asliddin Navrouzov was detained by the law enforcement officers on suspicion of being members of the IMU on May 5 this year.
Since the beginning of this year, five residents of the village of Qizil Nishon have been jailed for membership in the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and two other residents of this village have been fined for not reporting a crime.
According to unofficial data, more than 20 residents of the village of Qizil Nishon are currently wanted by police on suspicion of being members of the IMU.
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan has been banned in Tajikistan since 2000.
