Alleged Hizb Ut-Tahrir Members Arrested In Kyrgyzstan

NARYN, Kyrgyzstan — Three alleged members of the banned Hizb ut-Tahrir Islamic group have been arrested in Kyrgyzstan’s northern city of Naryn.

Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security said that a 39-year-old man, said to be the leader of the cell, and two associates were detained on June 10 and charged with inciting religious hatred and illegal possession of extremist materials.

The suspects’ names were not released.

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

The Kyrgyz government and a number of other former Soviet republics have banned Hizb ut-Tahrir, branding its supporters as “extremists.”

Since last summer, several alleged members of the organization have been arrested in towns across Kyrgyzstan.

Source : rferl.org