Russian Court Convicts Hizb Ut-Tahrir Activist

9 September 2005 -- A man accused of being an activist of the banned Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir has been convicted of extremist activities by a court in Siberia.

Russian news reports say Eduard Khusainov was given a 4 1/2-year suspended sentence by a court in Nizhnevartovsk, a town located amid major oil fields in western Siberia.

Khusainov was accused of involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir, a radical Islamic group that has been outlawed in Russia and several other former Soviet states.

Hizb ut-Tahrir, which originated in the Middle East and whose Arabic name means Party of Liberation, says it disavows violence in its quest to create an Islamic caliphate in Central Asia.

(AP)

See also:

Radical Islamists Challenge Governments Efforts At Control

Banned Islamist Group Hizb ut-Tahrir Rejects Blair's 'Draconian Measures'