KHUJAND, August 4, 2009, Asia-Plus  --The 24-year-old entrepreneur from the northern city of Isfara,  Rustam Olimov, was detained on August 2 on suspicion of being member of the banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and having been involved in murder of two policemen in Konibodom in 2005.

According to press service of the Sughd police directorate, the ongoing investigation into case of Anvar Qayumov, who was reportedly leader of the IMU cell in Isfara, has established that Rustam Olimov was the member of that cell.  “It became known that Olimov assisted them with organizing an attack on a detention center in Qairoqqum in January 2006,” said the source, “Besides, Rustam Olimov was also involved in killing of two policemen in Konibodom in November 2005.”

Criminal proceedings have been instituted against Rustam Olimov under the provisions of Article 187, Part 2 of Tajikistan’s Penal Code – organizing criminal group and participation in criminal group and an investigation is under way.

We will recall that the group''s leader, Anvar Qayumov, was extradited from Afghanistan to Tajikistan in December 2008.

The IMU is a militant Islamist group formed in 1998. It was largely destroyed in 2001 when it fought with the Taliban against U.S. forces in Afghanistan.