Illegal Activities Of Terrorist Organizations

Abstract

This article analyses the unlawful activities of the extremist and terrorist organizations “Akromiya”, “Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami” and the “Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan”, which attempted to operate clandestinely in the Republic of Uzbekistan from the first years of independence, in the light of the national legislation. Drawing on the norms of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations”, the Criminal Code and the Code of Admin- istrative Liability, as well as on specialised academic literature, the author identifies six principal categories of legal violation committed by these movements: operating with- out state registration; establishing and leading prohibited organizations; the unlawful production, importation and dissemination of religious materials; the holding of unau- thorised religious gatherings; participation in the activities of illegal religious commu- nities; and the incitement of others, including minors, to take part in such activities. The study demonstrates that the concealed nature of these groups is not an incidental feature but a direct consequence of the fact that their goals contradict the constitutional order, and concludes that the guarantees of freedom of conscience provided by the state leave no legitimate ground for clandestine religious activity.