"WHIRLPOOL OF DEATH:" UZBEK TV REPORTS ISLAMIC

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 001288 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA, DRL, AND INR E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/07/2018 TAGS: PHUM PTER KIRF KISL PINR PGOV PREL SOCI PK UZ SUBJECT: "WHIRLPOOL OF DEATH:" UZBEK TV REPORTS ISLAMIC JIHAD RECRUITING IN UZBEKISTAN REF: A. TASHKENT 1155 ¶B. TASHKENT 749 ¶C. TASHKENT 876 ¶D. TASHKENT 1253 Classified By: POLOFF R. FITZMAURICE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (C) Summary: On October 31, Uzbek state-controlled television broadcasted a 20-minute program claiming that members of the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization had recruited Uzbeks in the town of Khonobod in Andijon province and facilitated their travel to Pakistan to train in militant camps. After an investigation by the National Security Service (NSS),ten individuals were reportedly convicted of terrorism-related criminal charges and sentenced to between 15 and 16 years' imprisonment. The video included several interviews with the defendants, who reported that Islamic Jihad provided them with fake Kyrgyz passports to travel to Pakistan via Kyrgyzstan and Russia. The broadcast is the first public report we have seen in several years claiming that Islamic militants were recruiting members inside Uzbekistan and sending them to training camps in Afghanistan or Pakistan. The timing of the program shortly follows NSS Chief Inoyatov's travel to Germany, where he reportedly discussed the threat posed by the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU) with German security officials. It is impossible for us to immediately verify the program's claims. While the threat of terrorism in Uzbekistan can never be dismissed out of hand, we have good reasons to view the program's claims with a certain amount of skepticism. End summary. BBC MONITORING PROVIDES EMBASSY WITH COPY OF PROGRAM -------------- -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The Uzbek-language "Whirlpool of Death" program was originally broadcasted for 20 minutes on Uzbek Television First Channel on October 31. BBC Monitoring Central Asia summarized the program on November 1 and gave the Embassy a copy videocassette, which poloff and Embassy political assistant watched together. The documentary appeared well-produced by Uzbek television standards, combining ominous music with narrated montages of the defendants sitting in court and the town of Khonobod. The program also included several interviews with the defendants, their family members, and authorities. TEN DEFENDANTS RECEIVE 15 TO 16 YEAR-SENTENCES -------------- - ¶3. (SBU) The program reported that in April 2008, Andijon authorities uncovered a cell of the Islamic Jihad terrorist group in the town of Khonobod in Andijon province (Note: While the video referred to the group as Islamic Jihad, we believe this is the same as the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU),a splinter group of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. End note.) The cell was allegedly recruiting and sending local Uzbeks to train in militant camps in Pakistan, under the guise of sending them to Russia for work. After an undercover investigation by the NSS, most of the individuals (but not all) were reportedly detained. Ten individuals were charged with several terrorism-related offences, including organizing and participating in a terrorist group and possessing extremist literature. All of the individuals were reportedly convicted by the Andijon region Criminal Court and sentenced to between 15 and 16 years' imprisonment (Note: The video showed nine, not ten, defendants in the courtroom. It is likely that one of the defendants, Lochin Qoldoshev, was convicted in absentia, as the program noted that he was still at large, see para 4. End note.) The documentary concluded with a statement thanking the NSS for its assistance in creating the program. ISLAMIC JIHAD ALLEGEDLY SENDS RECRUITER TO UZBEKISTAN -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The program featured lengthy interviews with several of the defendants, all of whom were Uzbek males roughly between the ages of 20 and 35. The defendants appeared to be in good health with no obvious signs of mistreatment (at least from what was shown in the video). One of the defendants - Nosir Dadajanov, who reported training with militants in Pakistan's North Waziristan province - explained that the militant cell in Khonobod was set up by Lochin Qoldoshev, a native of Andijon province and Islamic Jihad member who also went by the pseudonyms "Oybek," "Ulugbek," and "Asomiddin." Under orders of Islamic Jihad leader Najmiddin Jalolov (whose pseudonym was "Yahyo"), Qoldoshev reportedly returned to Uzbekistan from Pakistan to recruit new members for Islamic Jihad and facilitate their travel to Pakistan for training. The narrator reported that Qoldoshev escaped arrest and remains at large. REPORTEDLY SENDS UZBEKS TO PAKISTAN VIA KYRGYZSTAN, RUSSIA -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Dadajanov explained that in 2006, Qoldoshev recruited three individuals from Khonobod and traveled with them to the village of Suzak in Kyrgyzstan. There he reportedly introduced them to other Islamic Jihad members, including Kyrgyz citizen Suliman Khusan (who used the pseudonym "Fara"),"Qoriboy," and "Java." The Uzbeks from Khonobod then reportedly flew from Kyrgyzstan to Pakistan via Russia, Turkey, and Iran. ¶6. (SBU) Later in October 2006, the narrator reported that four residents of Khonobod - Nizom Egamberdiyev, Botir Sotiboldiyev, Sotiboldi Mamadaliyev, and Shuhrat Ayqarayev - were provided with fake Kyrgyz passports and attempted to travel to Pakistan via Russia. In Moscow, border guards reportedly discovered that the passports of Egamberdiyev and Mamadaliyev were forged and prevented their departure. However, Sotiboldiyev and Ayqarayev allegedly reached Pakistan's Waziristan province. ¶7. (SBU) Qoldoshev also reportedly prepared fake Kyrgyz passports in December 2007 for three individuals from Khonobod - Nodir Akhmedov, Maksud Ortiqov, and Sotiboldi Mamadaliyev - to travel to the town of Jalalabad in Kyrgyzstan to meet with "Fara," who then allegedly facilitated their travel to North Waziristan (Note: The documentary did not explain through what countries these Uzbeks allegedly traveled to get from Kyrgyzstan to Pakistan. End note.) ALLEGED TRAINING IN PAKISTAN -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Defendant Tokim Karimov reported that he received three months of training at a terrorist camp in Pakistan, including separate 15-day courses on the Koran and the use of explosive materials. Upon "graduation," Karimov was informed that he was now "ready to wage Jihad." The narrator added that individuals who trained in Pakistan returned to Khonobod to "implement the instructions from North Waziristan." Dadajanov also claimed that "Kyrgyz, Uzbek, and Tajik students" at the terrorist camps were instructed to "always remain armed" and to "keep their hand grenades and guns at hand to use at any time." FUNDRAISING ISLAMIC JIHAD-STYLE -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Defendant Egamberdiyev reported that Islamic Jihad contacts in Kyrgyzstan requested that new recruits donate between 100,000 and 200,000 Uzbek soums (between 75 and 150 dollars) to the organization. Another defendant, Anvar Deliyev, reported that individuals traveling to Moscow were met by three Tajik Islamic Jihad members - Feruz, Bek, and Abdurakhmon - who reportedly raised money by robbing Muscovites, which they then sent to Islamic Jihad members in Waziristan. INTERVIEWS WITH FAMILY MEMBERS -------------- ¶10. (SBU) The parents of defendant Tokim Karimov reported that they turned their son over to the police after finding extremist literature, including DVD discs, in his possession. Karimov's father claimed that his son's problems began after he started attending daily prayers at a local mosque. Egamberdiyev's mother is shown stating that she does not know how her son became involved with Islamic militants. Egamberdiyev's older brother lambasted the militants "for hating our independence and hurting our country...they want to create their own state, and try to corrupt our pure religion." INTERVIEWS WITH NATIONAL SECURITY SERVICE AGENTS -------------- --- ¶11. (SBU) The documentary featured two interviews with NSS agents. The first agent was identified as NSS investigator Sobir Bilolov, who reported that extremist material was found hidden in the ceiling of the home of defendant Avizbek Juraev. The material allegedly included extremist literature on compact disc and brochures produced by the "Emirs of Islamic Jihad." ¶12. (SBU) The documentary also featured a "special" (presumably undercover) NSS agent, whose face was silhouetted. The agent asserted that the young men arrested in Khonobod were "cheated and lied to" by Islamic Jihad, which planted "seeds of hatred in their hearts" and "taught them to hate their government." DEFENDANTS ADMIT THEIR WRONGS, ASK FOR FORGIVENESS -------------- -------------- ¶13. (SBU) Towards the end of the program, both Dadajanov and Egamberdiyev admitted their wrongs and asked for forgiveness. Dadajanov explained that he was brainwashed by extremist literature, which made him "forget about his parents and his country." Egamberdiyev requested forgiveness from his parents, wife, and young child. He claimed that the militants lied to him and blamed his "lack of experience" for his mistakes. FLASHBACKS TO 2004 BOMBINGS IN TASHKENT AND BUKHARA -------------- -------------- ¶14. (SBU) Towards the end of the program, the program showed scenes from the 2004 bombings in Tashkent and Bukhara, including footage of the aftermath of one of the explosions in front of the Tsum department store building at the Chorsu market. Additional footage showed damage from the explosion near the Israeli Embassy in Tashkent. Several scenes were also shown from the trials of the men who were convicted of involvement in the bombings (Note: The Islamic Jihad Union claimed responsibility for the attacks in Tashkent and Bukhara in March and April 2004 and the bombings in July 2004 in front of the U.S. and Israeli Embassies. End note). FIRST RECENT REPORT OF MILITANTS SENDING UZBEKS TO PAKISTAN -------------- -------------- ¶15. (C) Embassy political assistant (protect) observed that the broadcast was the first public report he had seen in several years (at least since the Andijon events, if not earlier) claiming that Islamic militants were recruiting members inside Uzbekistan and sending them to training camps in Afghanistan or Pakistan. He observed that in the 1990s, there were several trials of individuals accused of recruiting Uzbeks in the Ferghana Valley to train with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) in Afghanistan or Pakistan. In contrast, there continue to be periodic public reports of Uzbeks being convicted of membership in banned religious extremist (but not necessarily militant or terrorist) organizations like Hizb ut-Tahrir. NSS CHIEF DISCUSSES ANTI-TERRORISM COOPERATION IN GERMANY -------------- -------------- ¶16. (SBU) The timing of the Uzbek television program is particularly interesting, considering its appearance shortly after NSS Chief Rustam Inoyatov's travel to Germany on October 23. According to several articles in the international media, Inoyatov was part of a NSS delegation that met with German security and intelligence officials seeking assistance in combating the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU). Inoyatov's arrival in Germany occurred just days after the European Union lifted a visa ban on selected Uzbek officials, including Inoyatov, which had been imposed following the 2005 Andijon events (ref A). ¶17. (U) According to international media reports, German security officials see the IJU, an offshoot of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, as a serious threat to stage an attack inside Germany. In September 2007, the German Federal Criminal Police broke up an IJU terrorist cell in a rural village between Hanover and Frankfurt, arresting three suspected members. Eric Breininger, a 21 year-old convert to Islam, recently sent a video message from Afghanistan to German authorities, warning that Germany had become a target for Islamic militants because of the presence of German troops in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan (Note: Germany maintains a small military airbase in Uzbekistan at Termez, along the Uzbek-Afghan border. End note.) Breininger's video reportedly surfaced just days before Inoyatov's visit to Berlin. COMMENT -------------- ¶18. (C) It is impossible for us to immediately verify the Uzbek television program's claims. While militants from Uzbekistan are certainly active on Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, most of those militants are believed to be current or former IMU members who left Uzbekistan in the 1990s to fight for the Taliban in Afghanistan and then drifted south to Pakistan after the Taliban's defeat in 2001. As noted by Embassy political assistant - other than this documentary - we have not seen public reports of Islamic militants recruiting inside Uzbekistan or Uzbeks traveling to Pakistan to fight for militant groups for several years. In contrast, individuals in Uzbekistan continue to be imprisoned (and sometimes tortured) over alleged ties to Islamic extremist groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir, and the charges against at least some of those individuals are believed to be exaggerated or entirely concocted. While the claims made in the documentary may be true, it is important to take any claims by the government regarding the activity of either Muslim extremist or terrorist organizations with a healthy dose of skepticism. Nevertheless, we should not entirely dismiss the documentary, since if its allegations are at least partially true, it demonstrates the continued activity of a militant group inside Uzbekistan which has carried out terrorist attacks in the country before. ¶19. (C) The program is undoubtedly intended to serve as a warning to ordinary Uzbeks to stay away from Islamic militants. However, it is also likely that the video's release was timed to coincide with NSS Chief Inoyatov's trip to Germany to discuss the threat posed by the Islamic Jihad Union. This would not be the first time that we have seen NSS-approved documentaries appearing on Uzbek television at opportune times. In May, Uzbek television aired a documentary sharply critical of Jehovah's Witnesses and Evangelicals shortly before the arrival of Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom John Hanford (ref B),who traveled to Tashkent to try to reach an agreement over steps the government could take to improve religious freedom (the negotiations came close to succeeding, but stalled at the last minute, which we believe was also due to NSS meddling). In June, Uzbek television broadcasted another documentary attacking Radio Free Europe journalists shortly after the government held a conference on media freedom in Tashkent (ref C). In the previous two cases, we believe that elements within the NSS may have planted the videos on Uzbek television in order to provoke a reaction and hinder any improvement in relations with the West. According to Uzbek government insiders, the NSS and other ministries have played this game before (ref D). In the case of the most recent Uzbek television documentary on Islamic Jihad, it is possible that the goal was different: to once again show to the West (Germany in particular) that Uzbekistan can be an important partner in the fight against terrorism. Some observers have criticized the Uzbek government before for hyping the threat of terrorism from external sources in order to bolster security cooperation with the West. While the threat of terrorism in Uzbekistan cannot be dismissed out of hand, we again need to be cautious about accepting the Uzbek government's information on Islamic militants uncritically. ¶20. (C) We have not yet seen any reaction to the documentary on the part of opposition or human rights activists. Our long-standing concern with cases involving alleged religious extremist or militants in Uzbekistan is that such individuals are often denied due process and mistreated (and sometimes tortured) in detention. So far, we have not received any complaints regarding this particular case. Poloff has already inquired with several human rights activists who closely follow religious extremism trials, and none of them was familiar with the case or the documentary. We will continue to reach out to contacts to get their reactions and see if they know anything more. NORLAND