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Kazakh Teenager Jailed For Encouraging Terrorism Online


AQTOBE, Kazakhstan -- A teenager has been sentenced to five years in jail in Kazakhstan's northwestern city of Aqtobe on charges of encouraging terrorism on the Internet.

The Aqtobe Regional Court's spokeswoman told RFE/RL that Maulid Emenov, 18, was found guilty on November 29 of posting several audio recordings on the Russian social network Vkontakte in Russian and Arabic calling for "jihad" against "infidels."

Emenov was sentenced the same day.

Emenov's conviction and sentencing came a day after a court in Aqtobe sentenced 29 men in a high-profile Islamist terrorism case related to shootings in the city in June.

Five civilians and three members of Kazakhstan's security forces were killed in that violence.

On November 28, seven of the 29 defendants were sentenced to life in prison. The others were sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to 25 years.

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