Activities of youth branch of Hizb ut-Tahrir suppressed in Bishkek

Activity of an underground cell of the youth branch of the religious extremist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami, banned in Kyrgyzstan, has been suppressed. Press center of the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan reported.

«Members of the cell were engaged in recruiting and training new adherents from among the students of the capital’s universities, who later, in the future, could enter government agencies and become proponents of extremist ideology. They conducted conspiratorial classes on an ongoing basis to study anti-constitutional materials, and also distributed extremist materials in electronic format, including through the Internet,» the statement says.

During a search of the places of residence of Hizb ut-Tahrir members, notes, leaflets, a large amount of electronic materials, laptops, tablets, smartphones and USB flash drives were found and seized. A comprehensive examination of the seized materials and data storage devices was scheduled.

Seven members of the underground cell were detained. Its leader, one of the leaders of the youth branch, was placed in the pre-trial detention center of the State Committee for National Security.