4 terrorist groups have been exposed in Tashkent in 5 months - General Department of Internal Affairs

Between January-May of the current year in Tashkent in connection with the militants of the international terrorist organizations "Islamic State" (IS) and "Secretary of Tawhid and Jihad" (TJS) (the activities of these organizations are banned in Uzbekistan, Russia, the United States, and many European countries) four secret groups, 10 "virtual" groups that have individually radicalized and propagated the ideas of extremist organizations and movements, and 250 members of extremist groups have been identified and their illegal activities have been stopped. This was reported by the General Department of Internal Affairs in Tashkent.

"These individuals have been involved in propagating the ideas of extremist and terrorist organizations, recruiting new members and sending them to militant camps, financing terrorism, and inciting acts of sabotage,"-the statement from the department said.

Earlier this year, a 27-member secret extremist group was revealed in Tashkent, with some members planning to travel to areas where hostilities are taking place and financing international terrorist groups. The Investigation Department under the Ministry of Internal Affairs has initiated criminal proceedings for 11 members of the group under articles 216, 244-1, and 244-2 of the Criminal Code, and the investigations are underway.

In addition, during the investigation, the citizen A.Sh. born in 2001, and living in the Tashkent region, was detained.  He formed a secret society of nine people living in Tashkent, some of whom, on the instructions of A. Khamrabuvaev (nicknamed "Akhluddin Navkotiy", a citizen of Kyrgyzstan), the ideological leader of the international terrorist organization "Secretary of Tawhid and Jihad" operating in Syria and planned to join the ranks of militants in Syria.

In addition, two secret groups of TJS including 10 members living in Tashkent, aged 18-27, some of them schoolchildren, were identified.  The groups were led by Abu Ahmad Uzbeki, one of the TJS’s officials in Syria.  The members of the group had planned to carry out subversive activities in administrative buildings and public places in the capital, as well as to finance the activities of terrorist organizations.

Immediate investigative measures led to the seizure of explosive device components and masks from members of the group as material evidence.

The members of the group have been charged under articles 155, 244-1, and 244-2 of the Criminal Code by the Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

At the same time, the illegal activities of wanted individuals in the ranks of terrorist organizations in Syria through social networks and messengers to recruit their relatives and close contacts in Uzbekistan, to encourage them to go to terrorist camps have been eliminated.

In particular, in 2022, as a result of cooperation with foreign special services, 59 wanted militants and supporters of terrorist and extremist organizations were detained and deported to Uzbekistan.  These individuals have been recruited to the staff of foreign terrorist organizations and tasked to finance their activities, and recruit and send candidates to militant camps in Syria. Some have also planned to carry out acts of sabotage in Uzbekistan and other countries.

However, in April 2022, a resident of the Fergana region (oblast) X.K., born in 1995, was detained in Russia and extradited to Uzbekistan.  In 2014-2015, he underwent combat training in the ranks of the terrorist organization TJS in Syria and was sent by the leaders of the organization Sh.Sh. and K.Sh to create secret groups on the territory of Russia, to establish channels for financing terrorist organizations.  A criminal case has been filed against X.K. under articles 244-2 and 155-3 of the Criminal Code, and a preliminary investigation is underway.

As a result of the measures taken, the wanted TJK militant in Turkey, B.D., born in 1998, from the Samarkand region.  Russia has banned a series of terrorist attacks in Moscow and St. Petersburg.  He is being investigated under articles 155-2, 223, 244-1, and 244-2 of the Criminal Code.

In addition, S.H, born in 1999 in the Kashkadarya region was detained in Russia and extradited to Uzbekistan. He was reportedly recruited by the international terrorist organization “Hayot Tahrir ash-Shom” in Syria via the internet, trained to make improvised explosive devices, and returned to Uzbekistan to carry out subversive activities.  He was charged under articles 244-1, 155, and 248 of the Criminal Code.

In addition, this year the illegal activities of 5 members of the religious extremist organization "Hizb ut-Tahrir" living in Tashkent city and region, and 10 members who previously served a prison sentence, were suspended.  They were influenced by the recruitment of one of the organization's ideological leaders, A. Kholdarov ("Makhmud Abdulmomin", a citizen of Kyrgyzstan, hiding in Romania) through the internet, and formed a secret group of their colleagues.

“Also, the activities of 8 organized criminal groups engaged in robbery, extortion, theft, and aggression in the city and region of Tashkent have been eliminated.  They have been ideologically influenced by terrorist organizations and funded extremism from their ill-gotten gains.  Some of them were preparing to leave for terrorist camps,-” the General Department of Internal Affairs said in a statement.

It was noted that in 2021 in the shopping center "Techno World" ("Malika") in Tashkent the activities of a criminal group that systematically commits cell phone theft, fraud, robbery, and inflicting bodily harm on security personnel in the area had been stopped.