أبو عبد الرحمن المقدسي
11-15-2006, 06:20 PM
Uzbek court sentences accused Islamic extremist to 10 years
ALMATY, Kazakhstan: A court in Uzbekistan has sentenced a man to 10 years in prison for belonging to a banned Islamic group, despite claims the charges were trumped up and the man was tortured in detention, a human rights activist said Wednesday.
The city court in the Central Asian nation's capital, Tashkent, convicted and sentenced Komiljon Usmanov on Tuesday on charges of heading a cell of Hizb ut-Tahrir, a banned group that advocates a worldwide Islamic state, said activist Surat Ikramov.
Usmanov said he was tortured and electrocuted for 25 days and was forced to sign a confession, which he withdrew at the trial, according to Ikramov.
Usmanov's attorney, Rukhiddin Komilov, said the court had failed to prove his guilt or to show evidence he had broken the law.
"Like thousands of others, this man was 'appointed' an Islamic radical by a court that followed direct instructions from authorities," Ikramov told The Associated Press.
President Islam Karimov's government accused Hizb-ut-Tahrir of inspiring deadly attacks and bombings in 2004 that left more than 50 people dead, many of them alleged attackers. The group, which claims to reject violence in pursuit of its goals, has denied responsibility.
Since the late 1990s, Uzbek authorities have been cracking down on alleged Islamic radical groups accused of plotting to overthrow the secular government. Rights groups say thousands of Muslims practicing their faith outside state-controlled institutions have been arrested and convicted on trumped-up charges.
The clampdown intensified after the last year's revolt in the eastern city of Andijan, when government troops opened fire on thousands of mostly peaceful protesters. Rights groups and witnesses say 700 people died. The government says fewer than 200 died and blames Islamic radicals for instigating the violence.
Karimov has ruled the predominantly Muslim nation of 26 million since before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
المصدر:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/15/...n_Extremism.php
ALMATY, Kazakhstan: A court in Uzbekistan has sentenced a man to 10 years in prison for belonging to a banned Islamic group, despite claims the charges were trumped up and the man was tortured in detention, a human rights activist said Wednesday.
The city court in the Central Asian nation's capital, Tashkent, convicted and sentenced Komiljon Usmanov on Tuesday on charges of heading a cell of Hizb ut-Tahrir, a banned group that advocates a worldwide Islamic state, said activist Surat Ikramov.
Usmanov said he was tortured and electrocuted for 25 days and was forced to sign a confession, which he withdrew at the trial, according to Ikramov.
Usmanov's attorney, Rukhiddin Komilov, said the court had failed to prove his guilt or to show evidence he had broken the law.
"Like thousands of others, this man was 'appointed' an Islamic radical by a court that followed direct instructions from authorities," Ikramov told The Associated Press.
President Islam Karimov's government accused Hizb-ut-Tahrir of inspiring deadly attacks and bombings in 2004 that left more than 50 people dead, many of them alleged attackers. The group, which claims to reject violence in pursuit of its goals, has denied responsibility.
Since the late 1990s, Uzbek authorities have been cracking down on alleged Islamic radical groups accused of plotting to overthrow the secular government. Rights groups say thousands of Muslims practicing their faith outside state-controlled institutions have been arrested and convicted on trumped-up charges.
The clampdown intensified after the last year's revolt in the eastern city of Andijan, when government troops opened fire on thousands of mostly peaceful protesters. Rights groups and witnesses say 700 people died. The government says fewer than 200 died and blames Islamic radicals for instigating the violence.
Karimov has ruled the predominantly Muslim nation of 26 million since before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
المصدر:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/15/...n_Extremism.php