Kyrgyzstan Detains Six Islamists For 'Propaganda'
Hizb ut-Tahrir literature seized in Kyrgyzstan
August 07, 2009
BISHKEK (Reuters) -- Kyrgyz police have detained six members of the banned Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir for distributing radical propaganda, the Interior Ministry said.
The ministry said it had confiscated hundreds of CDs, DVDs, and leaflets as well as tapes and books from the group.
"This group had for a long time been involved in the propaganda of radical Islamic ideas in the Kara-suu district and the Osh region," it said in a statement, adding that a local Hizb ut-Tahrir leader was among the detained.
Hizb ut-Tahrir says it employs only peaceful methods to achieve its ultimate goal of establishing a caliphate including all of Central Asia.
But Central Asian governments have accused it of stoking unrest and vowed to crack down on the group's operations. It is banned throughout the region.
In June, Kyrgyzstan, home to a U.S. and a Russian military air base, reported a series of gun battles with militants of another Islamist group, linked to Afghanistan's Taliban.