DUSHANBE -- Two young men in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, have been jailed for raising the flag of the Islamic State (IS) extremist group in a public place.
A court in Dushanbe found Davron Qurbonov, 21, and Qudrat Nassruloev, 17, guilty of public calls for extremist activities on May 19 and sentenced them to six and four years in jail, respectively, the same day.
The two were arrested shortly after the large black flag of the IS appeared under a bridge in Dushanbe in late November.
Qurbonov's relatives told RFE/RL that the verdict will be appealed.
In December and February, 20 Tajik men were sentenced to lengthy prison terms in two separate cases for publicly showing IS flags.
Tajik authorities say some 500 Tajik citizens are fighting alongside IS militants in Syria and Iraq.
