DUSHANBE, October 12, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- Prosecutor-General Sherkhon Salimzoda told reporters on October 12 that 14 criminal proceedings have been instituted against 73 member of the banned religious extremist Hizb ut-Tahrir organization over the first nine months of this year.

According to him, 9 cases against 36 Hizb ut-Tahrir members have already moved to courts.

Besides, three criminal cases have been instituted against three members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) over the report period, Tajik chief prosecutor said, adding that investigation into criminal case instituted against 36 members of Jamaati Tabligh in 2009 is still going on.

On the criminal situation in the country, Salimzoda said that 9,276 crimes have been reported in the country in January-September this year, which is 7.42 percent fewer than in the same period last year.

1,892 serious crimes have been reported over the same nine-month period, including 106 murders, 139 robberies, 539 drug-related crimes, etc.

According to the statistical data from the Prosecutor-General’s Office, the crime detection rat for January-September stood at 88.74 percent.