KHUJAND, May 24, 2016, Asia-Plus – Resident of the northern province of Sughd has got a long jail term for membership in the outlawed religious extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir

A court in the city of Guliston (formerly Qairoqqum) sentenced local resident Nourullo Haqnazarov to six years in prison on May 23.

The sentence reportedly followed his conviction on charges of organizing an activity of an extremist group (Article 307’ (2) of Tajikistan’s Penal Code).  Haqnazarov will serve his tem in a high-security penal colony.  

Nourullo Haqnazarov was reportedly detained by officers of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS)’s directorate for Sughd province in February this year.

Hizb ut-Tahrir is a Sunni political organization that seeks to unite all Muslim countries into an Islamic caliphate.

The Supreme Court of Tajikistan formally labeled the banned Hizb ut-Tahrir Islamist group as an extremist organization on March 11, 2008.  The ruling followed a request submitted to the court by Tajik chief prosecutor.  Although the group has been outlawed in Tajikistan since April 2001, the ruling means even tighter restrictions on the group''s presence on the Internet and its use of media to promote its ideology.