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Local Resident Sentenced For Extremism In Kazakhstan's Restive West


A court in Kazakhstan's western city of Oral has sentenced a local man to five years in jail for propagating religious extremism.

The 42-year-old man, whose name was not made public during sentencing on September 18, had pleaded guilty to the charges.

Investigators say he was involved in the illegal distribution of literature calling for an "armed fight against infidels," or jihad, in 2008-2012.

The trial follows the arrest of two local residents in the city of Atyrau, also in the west, on September 15 for alleged links with a terrorist group, five members of which were killed by security forces last week in the area.

Also on September 15, two local policemen were injured in an explosion and a gun battle near a police station in Atyrau.

Several antiterrorist operations targeting alleged religious extremists have been conducted recently in western Kazakhstan.

Based on reporting by KazTAG and Interfax

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