DUSHANBE, June 1, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- Two other alleged activists of the outlawed extremist religious Hizb ut-Tahrir organization have been detained in two separate operations in Sughd province, according to the Ministry of Interior (MoI).

The source at a MoI said that Khujand resident Ilhomjon Mirkhonov was detained by local police yesterday on suspicion of having been member of the Hizb ut-Tahrir party.  When searching his house, police officers found 16 books and 4 DVDs with materials propagating the Hizb ut-Tahrir activity.

The same day, officers from the Chkalovsk police department detained local resident Mahkam Davlatov.  Four issues of the Hizb ut-Tahrir monthly Al-Va’ and three subversive books were found in his house.  The preliminary investigation has established that Davlatov has been an active member of the Hizb ut-Tahrir organization since 2009, the source said.

Criminal proceedings against Mirkhonov and Davlatov have been instituted under the provisions of two articles of Tajikistan’s Penal Code – Article 187, Part 2 (organization of criminal grouping) and Article 307, Part 2 (calling in public for conducting extremist actions).