TRIAL OVER TERRORISTS IN TASHKENT STARTED
As informed into AzerTAj from embassy of Uzbekistan in Baku, they are accused in fulfillment of murder under aggravating circumstances, in terrorism, in religious extremism, in capture of the weapon and ammunition, in manufacturing explosives, their carrying and storage, in smuggling.
Uzbek authorities have arrested at least 85 individuals following the late July suicide bombings in Tashkent. The crackdown is continuing amid uncertainty over what Islamic radical group carried out the attacks. Uzbek President Islam Karimov has vowed that a state commission will "track down roots" of the bombings at the US and Israeli embassies and the Uzbek prosecutor general’s office. Meanwhile, state prosecutors alleged that all of the 85 individuals, including 17 women, taken into custody so far had undergone training to be suicide bombers.
A representative of the Uzbek prosecutor’s office, Alisher Muhammedov, said the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) had established terrorist cells throughout the country, according to an August 1 report by the Itar-Tass News Agency. Other reports also focused on the IMU as the likely instigator of the bombings.
The Uzbek president assailed another Islamic radical group, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, as the culprit in the vendts. Hizb is a trans-national organization that seeks to topple Karimov’s government and establish an Islamic caliphate in Central Asia through non-violent means.
Not only is Hizb responsible for the July blasts, but the group was also behind the late March violence in Tashkent in Bukhara that left at least 47 people dead, Uzbek President indicated. Evidence from the July and March incidents indicates, "that they were organized by members of the same group, that they acted in accordance with one plan and that they were pursuing the same aim".
"If the religious movement intends to set up a caliphate in Uzbekistan, overthrow the current system, give up the modern style of life and create a state based on Islamic law, then how will they be able to do this in a peaceful way," the President added during his address.
Hizb representatives issued a statement in London, site of the group’s headquarters, vehemently denying involvement in the Uzbek explosions. The statement insisted that it does not engage in violent actions and instead "seeks to change people’s thoughts through intelligent discussion and debate."
Uzbek authorities say those responsible for the July and March attacks received logistical help from international Islamic radical groups. "The militants trained in camps in Pakistani territory and they got there via Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Iran," Itar-Tass quoted Muhammedov, the prosecutor general’s office official, as saying. Karimov and others maintain that international Islamic radical groups are seeking to destabilize Uzbekistan, which has developed into the United States’ most important ally in Central Asia in the on-going anti-terrorism struggle.
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