An Uzbek court has jailed six women for religious extremism, a human rights activist said on Wednesday, adding that their confessions were obtained under pressure. Tashkent's city court handed out prison terms of five to eight years to the women on Tuesday, Uzbek human rights activist Surat Ikramov told Reuters. Police and court officials could not be reached for comment.
A seventh defendant, a 64-year-old pensioner, was given a three-year suspended sentence, he said. Earlier this month, 34 men were sentenced on similar charges of religious extremism.
This was the first group of women sentenced since the May uprising in the eastern city of Andizhan, where witnesses say some 500 people were killed.