Overview: The Government of Uzbekistan continued to rank counterterrorism within its borders as one of its top three security priorities, together with counternarcotics and countering violent extremism. The Government of Uzbekistan shares many U.S. counterterrorism goals and objectives in the region, but has employed methods that are in some cases inconsistent with respect for the fundamental rights of citizens and the rule of law.

Sharing a land border with Afghanistan, the Uzbek government continued to express concern about the potential for a "spillover effect" of terrorism, with the scheduled drawdown of U.S. troops by the end of 2014. The government was confident that it could control its border with Afghanistan but was less sure about its neighbors' ability to do so and was particularly concerned about infiltration of extremists through Uzbekistan's long, rugged border with Tajikistan.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: Law enforcement and judicial bodies used charges of terrorism and alleged ties to extremist organizations not only as grounds to arrest, prosecute, and convict suspected terrorists and extremists, but also to suppress legitimate expression of political or religious beliefs. The government perceives extremism as a threat to security and stability and bans organizations it broadly deems "extremist" and criminalizes membership in them. Nur, founded by Kurdish Mullah Said Nursi and associated with the religious teachings of Turkish scholar Fethullah Gullen, for example, is considered a banned organization, despite its consistent condemnations of violent extremism. The Initiative Group of Independent Human Rights Defenders of Uzbekistan estimated that more than 250 Muslim believers were imprisoned during the year on charges of religious extremism.

The government continued to issue biometric passports to citizens needing them for travel outside of Uzbekistan. The biometric data includes a digital photo, fingerprints, and biographical data.

Countering Terrorist Finance: Uzbekistan is a member of the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, a Financial Action Task Force-style regional body. The Government of Uzbekistan did not report any efforts to seize terrorist assets in 2012. However, in one case, the government froze the account of a citizen of Uzbekistan in connection with a joint Russian/Uzbek terrorism-related investigation. For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, we refer you to the 2013 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.

Regional and International Cooperation: Although the Uzbek government preferred bilateral engagement in its security-related cooperation, it is a member of several regional organizations that address terrorism, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), with the Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) of the SCO headquartered in Tashkent. Uzbekistan continued to work with several multilateral organizations such as the OSCE, the EU, and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime on general security issues, including border control. However, in 2012 Uzbekistan suspended its membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

In December, at the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Summit held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, CIS members, including Uzbekistan, signed an agreement on counterterrorism training cooperation.

Countering Radicalization and Violent Extremism: Official government media continued to produce documentaries, news articles, and full-length books about the dangers of Islamist religious extremism and terrorist organizations. This messaging generally targeted the 15-40 year old male population, which the Government of Uzbekistan considers the most susceptible to recruitment by violent extremist groups, although some campaigns have focused on female audiences. One of Uzbekistan's state-run television channels aired a program that urged citizens to read only state-authorized religious books, noting that there are two government authorized publishers of religious literature in Uzbekistan. The program highlighted inspections by law enforcement agencies of bookshops, publishing houses, and border checkpoints to stop the circulation of unauthorized so-called "extremist" literature. Some non-governmental religious experts continued to suggest that greater freedom to circulate mainstream, non-extremist Islamic and other religious materials could be more effective in countering violent extremism than the current policy of maintaining a government monopoly over religious publications. We refer you to the Department of State's Annual Report to Congress on International Religious Freedom (http://www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt/index.htm) for further information.

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