KHUJAND, April 22, 2015, Asia-Plus -- Resident of the northern province of Sughd has been jailed for propagation of ideas of Jamaat ut-Tabligh, a Sunni missionary group.

The Khujand city court sentenced the 35-year-old resident of the Bobojonghafourov district, M.S., to three years in prison on April 21.

The sentence followed his conviction on charges of organizing activities of an extremist group and participating in a banned public association or a religious organization (Article 307’ (2) of Tajikistan’s Penal Code).  He will serve his term in a high-security penal colony.

An official source at the Khujand city court says M.S, has the previous conviction; he served a nine-year term in prison for membership in the outlawed religious extremist Hizb ut-Tahrir group.

M.S. was detained by officers of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS)’s office for Sughd in December 2014, the source added.

Tajik authorities believe that Jamaat ut-Tabligh has a dangerous agenda and poses a threat to national security.

Jamaat ut-Tabligh was placed on Tajikistan''s official list of banned religious extremist groups in 2006, although it was not very widely known among the general public.

It is unclear how many people the group has recruited. But critics suggest that in addition to Jamaat ut-Tabligh''s senior members, many followers are also graduates of religious schools in Pakistan and Arab countries.

According to some sources, Jamaat ut-Tabligh followers insist they have no political agenda and that the movement''s activities merely consist of promoting values based on Sunni Islam''s Hanafi school.