TASHKENT. June 18 (Interfax) -Uzbek State Security Service officials have detained an Uzbek native who has U.S. citizenship and who was on the wanted list for involvement in the activities of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
"Zokir Aliyev, who was on the wanted list for involvement in the activities of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, was detained in the Chirakchinsky district of the Kashkadarya region of southern Uzbekistan," the Uzbek State Security Service said in a release issued on Monday.
Aliyev, born in 1972, had earlier lived in the area and received U.S. citizenship in 2014, the document said.
According to the Uzbek State Security Service, Aliyev has admitted his illegal activities. In particular, he said he had vowed his allegiance to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan in 2000, has received military training on the territory of Afghanistan and had fought against the country's government forces and the coalition troops.
The investigative division of the State Security Service opened a criminal case against Aliyev in 2005 for religious, extremist and terrorist activities based on testimonies of other members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
A decision on Aliyev's arrest is now pending.
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is recognized as a terrorist organization and is banned in Uzbekistan, Russia, the United States and many other countries of the world. According to the most recent information, its activities have now stopped and its activists have joined other international terrorist groups.