Kyrgyz Court Sentences Local Hizb-Ut Tahrir Leader

BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz security services say a local leader of the banned Hizb-ut Tahrir organization has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

Bakyt Zhumadilov, 37, was found guilty of propagating extremism and involvement in "activities aimed at inciting ethnic, racial, religious and interregional hatred."

Kyrgyzstan's National Security Committee said Zhumadilov was Hizb-ut-Tahrir's cell leader in the central-eastern Naryn province.

Kyrgyz media reported that he was convicted by the Naryn city court on September 18.

Zhumadilov was arrested in security services' raid in Bishkek in June.

The Kyrgyz government and other former Soviet republics have banned the London-based Sunni political group Hizb-ut-Tahrir, branding its supporters as "extremists."

Based on reporting by akipress and 24kg