A trial of 25 Muslim believers accused of membership in a banned religious group in Uzbekistan has ended after nearly three months with severe sentences for the members, the independent Uzbek news service ferghana.ru reports, citing the Uzbek opposition website Yangi Dunyo.
Unlike other cases of this nature in recent years, which have been closed to press and human rights groups, this trial in the Andijan regional court was open, relatives were admitted, and a well-known Andijan human rights activist, Saidjahon Zaynabitdinov was able to monitor it. Each defendant had a lawyer, some had even hired attorneys from Tashkent, and unlike other trials, the attorneys were more adversarial, and able to get the trial postponed several times when witnesses failed to appear. Even some local journalists were allowed to cover the proceedings.
Nine of the men were held in pre-trial detention, and 16 were released before trial, reports Zaynabitdinov. The proceedings began in early September and concluded in November. None of the defendants pleaded guilty, and all of them appeared relaxed, and vigorously defended themselves -- a factor that prompted observers to conclude that they had not been mistreated in detention.
While these circumstances seemed to indicate unsual conditions by contrast with most hasty, closed trials of religious and political activists in Uzbekistan, the outcome was just as grim: 19 of the members were sentenced to prison terms of 3-9 years and six from 2-6 years.
All the defendants are members of what is described as an orthodox Islam organization called Shokhidiylar, which recognizes the Prophet Mohammed but does not acknowledge Hadith, the collection of narrations about Mohammed's words and deeds, and based their spiritual practice only on the Koran.
The adherents of Shokhidiylar also have other beliefs that differ from traditional Islamic practices. They do not pray five days a day, and tolerate moderate drinking. They hold a fast for three months of the year, but eat at regular times during the day, refrain only from meat and milk products and eat only fish. Weddings and funerals are private rather than community affairs.
The group was founded by Habibullo Karimov, an imam who died recently, who translated the Koran into Uzbek and authored a book about the Koran, believing himself to be a prophet. It was this claim, and the refusal of his followers to adhere to the accepted burial tradition that at first caused local clergy to refuse to allow him to be buried in a Muslim cemetary until his relatives agreed to recant their beliefs.
The imam, who was paralyzed, was not brought to the trial, but his book was cited a number of times during the trial. His brother, Nasibullo Karimov, took over the leadership of the organization after his death, but was among those convicted, and sentenced to 9 years.
Zaynabitdinov says the group was not involved in politics, did not believe in building an Islamic state, and did not proseltyze to increase their membership. The devout men were conservative and strict and apparently kept to themselves. But when a group member murdered his father, supposedly because he had broken fasting rules, the group was brought to the attention of the authorities. Zaynabitdinov says it is possible there were other factors involved in the murder, but prosecutors did not investigate further. The group was rounded up like any other organization operating outside the confines of officially-sanctioned Islam.
Ferghana.ru says it was only able to find one mention on the web of this Muslim organization, a March 2008 interview by the BBC's Uzbek Service with Abdulaziz Mansur, deputy head of the Muslim Spiritual Directorate, who spoke about new non-traditional associations of believers in Uzbekistan, describing their differing practices.
Thus the Shokhidiylar adherents join the ranks of hundreds of other religious believers in Uzbekistan who have practiced Islam and other religions outside of approved state bounds and become suspected in extremism or even terrorism.
It's hard to know why the Uzbek government decided to allow this trial to proceed openly, and permit relatives, local media and even a human rights monitor to attend. Perhaps they need to open up trials from time to time so they continue to have a deterrent effect.
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