Politics of Uzbekistan - Crackdown On Islamic Fundamentalism

Crackdown On Islamic Fundamentalism

The government severely represses those it suspects of Islamic extremism. Some 6,000 suspected members of Hizb ut-Tahrir are among those incarcerated, and some are believed to have died over the past several years from prison disease, torture, and abuse. With few options for religious instruction, some young Muslims have turned to underground Islamic movements. The police force and the SNB use torture as a routine investigation technique. The government has begun to bring to trial some officers accused of torture. Four police officers and three SNB officers have been convicted. The government has granted amnesties to political and non-political prisoners, but this was believed to have benefited only a small proportion of those detained. In 2002 and the beginning of 2003 the government arrested fewer suspected Islamic fundamentalists than in the past. However in May 2005, hundreds were killed by police in a massacre of protesters in the city of Andijan.

In a move welcomed by the international community, the government of Uzbekistan has ended prior censorship, though the media remain tightly controlled.