ISLAMIST GROUP IN UZBEKISTAN SENTENCED TO PRISON.

An Uzbek court has convicted five purported Islamic radicals to prison terms ranging from three to twelve years. The men were found guilty of conspiracy to carry out a coup d’etat and set up an “Islamic state.” They were also described by the court as followers of two Islamic scholars of the “Wahhabi” persuasion. The convicted defendants and their families complained in court that prosecution witnesses–whose alleged testimony was used as incriminating evidence–did not actually appear during the trial, and that evidence from witnesses for the defense was not taken into account by the court (Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, January 9).

The Iranian radio report, favorable to the defendants, strengthens the supposition that they could not have been “Wahhabis.” Uzbek and other post-Soviet authorities are misusing that label to describe almost any type of Muslim fundamentalism or even traditional devotion. Uzbekistan staged at least seven known group trials of Islamists in 1998 and seems set to continue the series this year.

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