UZBEKISTAN: Samarkand Muslim to be tried for Shia Telegram chat group?

Amid a crackdown on Shia Muslims in Samarkand, police in May forced a detained Shia to open up his phone. They discovered a Telegram chat group to discuss Shia Islam. Officers arrested 10 men, questioning them for up to 20 hours about why they created an "illegal" religious chat group. After torture, a court jailed four – including 35-year-old Anvar Aliyev - for up to 10 days on "petty hooliganism" charges. On 14 July, Samarkand Police re-arrested Aliyev. The SSS secret police opened a crimina