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By Country / Tajikistan

Tajik Authorities Say Female Leader Of Banned Islamist Group Arrested

January 31, 2006

(RFE/RL)

31 January 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Tajik authorities say they have detained an alleged local leader of a banned Islamist group.

A police chief in the Soghd region, Makhmadsaid Jurakulov, said today that Moghadam Madalieva was detained on 30 January.

She is suspected of leading Hizb ut-Tahrir's female wing in the northern region.

Tajik authorities announced on 16 January that they had arrested 99 Hizb ut-Tahrir members in 2005, including 16 women. Many were sentenced to lengthy jail terms for "extremist activities."

The Hizb ut-Tahrir, or Party of Liberation, calls for the establishment of a global caliphate. Its activities are banned in all Central Asian republics, although the group claims its activities are peaceful.

(with additional agency reports)