Tajik Court Sentences 10 For Membership In Banned Islamic Group

The Khujand city court in northern Tajikistan has sentenced 10 people to jail after finding them guilty of being members of the banned Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir.

Hizb ut-Tahrir is an Islamist group that advocates the creation of an Islamic caliphate in Central Asia through peaceful means. It is banned throughout the region.

The court found the 10 guilty of calling for the violent overthrow of the government, organizing an illegal criminal group, and inciting national, ethnic, local, or religious hatred.

Their sentences ranged from three to 15 years in prison.

Among them was a 70-year-old man who was given six years.

compiled from agency reports