Nine people suspected of having taken part in raising funds for the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU),which is regarded as the most fearsome of fundamentalist organizations in Central Asia, have been formally placed under investigations, the French media has reported.
These people, of whom a majority is Turkish and other French, have been placed under investigation for "criminal association in relation with a terrorist enterprise and financing of terrorism" by Thierry Fragnoli and Philippe Coirre, French anti-terrorist judges, a judicial source said .
Four of the suspects, who are seen as the main masterminds behind the network, are expected to be presented before a judge of freedoms and detention (JLD) where the prosecutions will ask for them to be placed in remand custody pending investigations.
The five others, who are mainly presented as fundraisers for the organization, will be released under judicial control, said the same source.
During searches at the homes of the suspects, investigators had managed to seize thousands of euros in cash and two handguns, said a source close to the case, adding that computer hard drives and large quantities of documentation had also been recovered.
According to French investigators, the network, which is suspected of financing terrorism related activities, had also tried to win converts to their cause at two mosques in the Lyon region.
A propaganda video was seized by investigators, according to a security officer, who said that the group was eventually trying to transform into a vehicle smuggling young people to combat coalition troops in Iraq.
The nine people were all arrested in France, notably on May 16,during a vast police operation by officers from the Directorate of Territorial Security (DST) backed by elements from the RAID, an elite police unit that specializes in Research, assistance, intervention and deterrence.
Two other people, described as central figures in the network, were arrested the same day in Germany and the Netherlands, after French judicial authorities issued international warrants against them. The two are set to be extradited to stand trial with their brothers in arms.
According to intelligence circles, IMU, which is suspected to have links with al Qaida, was formed in 1998 with the aim of overthrowing Uzbek President Islam Karimov. The organization reportedly launched a series of guerrilla operations against his regime from its bases in Tajikistan and Afghanistan in 1999, 2000 and 2001.
After IMU military commander Juma Namangani died in Afghanistan in 2001, the organization, a close ally of the Taliban, has been especially active in the tribal areas near the common Afghan-Pakistani border.
Source:Xinhua
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