Uzbekistan: Seven Men Sentenced 5-10 Years for Religious Extremism
Seven men have been sentenced to prison terms from 5 to 10 years in Namangan in the Ferghana Valley on charges of membership in a religious group called Islamic Jihad, fergananews.com reported. The sentence was handed down May 28 and was reported June 16 by Surat Ikramov, head of the Initiative Group for Independent Human Rights Advocates.
All of the defendants lived in Norin district of Namangan province, and all had families, with up to four children.
The men were detained February 19 of this year and charged under Art. 159 of the Uzbek criminal code, "attempt on the constitutional order" and Art. 244-2, "founding, leadership, or participation in religious extremist, separatist, fundamentalist or other banned organizations."
As has often been the case with such trials on charges of religious extremism, media were not permitted in the courtroom and even lawyers did not receive timely notification of the proceedings, as only two out of six attorneys retained were present.
According to the Initiative Group, evidence for the charges was not provided to prove the defendants' guilt. Lawyers and relatives said the detainees had been tortured into giving confessions while in pre-trial detention, and that blatant violations of due process had occurred. They have appealed the sentence.
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