Extremist organizations have stepped up their activities in Kyrgyzstan, Sadyrbek Kachkynbayev, a leading expert in religion from the Dzhalal-Abad regional authorities told journalists on Wednesday.
He said 17 instances of the distribution of extremist religious literature were revealed in Kyrgyzstan in the first half of 2003. Criminal cases were started on six occasions and 1,500 people have been put under observation by law-enforcement agencies. In addition, 12 books and magazines as well as 300 extremist religious leaflets were also seized.
Since January, over 50 criminal cases have been initiated against activists of the Hizb-ut-Tahrir extremist party, which is banned in Central Asia, law-enforcement agencies report.
Kyrgyz law enforcement believes that the party is trying to win popular support by infiltrating their people into state agencies, thus establishing a radical Islamic regime.
The number of Hizb-ut-Tahrir supporters in Kyrgyzstan exceeds 5,000, according to special service estimates.