Two Alleged Terrorists Go On Trial In Astana

ASTANA – A court in Astana has opened a hearing on two alleged religious extremists charged with helping to organize a terrorist group, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports.

Kuat Zhobolayev and Zhasulan Suleymenov are accused of involvement in extremist group Jamaat Al-Farabi.

The defendants say they confessed under pressure while in the custody of Committee of National Security (KNB) officers.

They and several other Kazakhs were arrested earlier this year in Ingushetia in Russia's volatile North Caucasus. Investigators say that a grenade and extremist religious literature were found in their apartments.