Five Men Sentenced to Prison in Uzbekistan for Spreading Jihadist Ideas – Source

The Margilan city criminal court in eastern Uzbekistan’s Fergana region sentenced five members of a jihadist group to jail terms of up to 9 years for spreading the extremist ideas including calls for violent upheaval, a source in the court told Sputnik on Thursday.

TASHKENT (Sputnik) — According to the source, five men created in 2015 a jihadist cell supporting ideas of Daesh terrorist group. In order to avoid falling under suspicion of law enforcement agencies, they held meetings in public places, namely cafes and restaurants in Margilan and Fergana cities.

“According to the conclusion of judicial examination, materials confiscated from the accused contained propaganda of jihadist activities, appeals to dismantling the constitutional order in Uzbekistan and seizure of power,” the source said.

In September, the Margilan city court sentenced to prison two residents of the Fergana region for propaganda of jihadist ideas.

According to the data published by the Uzbekistan’s parliament, in the first half of 2016, the law enforcement bodies of the country detained 549 people for supporting religious and extremist organizations. Up to 334 crimes of extremist and terrorist nature were identified and about 7,000 copies of extremist literature and anti-government leaflets were confiscated.