RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol 2, No. 88 Part I, 11 May 1998

WAHHABI TRIALS BEGIN IN UZBEKISTAN. The trials of 12 out of a total of 27 suspected Islamic militants began in the eastern city of Namangan on 7 May, RFE/RL correspondents reported. The men, who are allegedly Wahhabis, have been accused of planning the violence in Namangan last December. Four of the accused have pleaded guilty to taking part in a conspiracy to undermine the state. In an interview with Uzbek Television the next day, President Islam Karimov said the threat of fundamentalism and Wahhabism originates in Afghanistan. He added that those involved want to make Tajikistan an Islamic state and then import their "ideology" into Uzbekistan through the Fergana Valley. BP

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