Country Report on Terrorism 2024 - Chapter 1 - Uzbekistan

Country Overview:  While there were no reported terrorist incidents in Uzbekistan, the government continued to be concerned about the spillover of terrorist activity from Afghanistan and the recruitment of its citizens into terrorist groups, particularly ISIS-K.  Terrorist organizations Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad (KTJ), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Islamic Jihad Union, and Jamaat Ansarullah all have Uzbekistani members.  Many Uzbekistani citizens who join terrorist groups, including migrant laborers, are radicalized overseas.  Uzbekistan’s courts convicted several individuals in 2024 who were allegedly recruited to terrorism online.

The government did not repatriate any Uzbekistani FTFs or their associated family members from northeast Syria in 2024.  Uzbekistan estimated that “hundreds” of Uzbekistani citizen FTFs and their associated family members remained in detention in northeast Syria, though confirming the identity of suspected Uzbekistanis continues to be complicated due to FTFs lacking travel documents or changing their names.  Law enforcement carried out a large-scale counterterrorism sweep in April, making several arrests across the country.

The government continued to use counter-messaging campaigns, training, and rehabilitation programs to deter terrorist recruitment.  Law enforcement agencies shut down channels for spreading Jihadist terrorist propaganda and promoting terrorism on social media, particularly on Telegram.  Uzbekistan supported a range of counter-recruitment and radicalization activities, including youth resilience-building, training for community leaders and care providers in rehabilitation and reintegration, and direct support for FTF family members returning home.  Uzbekistan’s efforts to counter terrorist financing are consistent with previous years.

2024 Terrorism Trends:  Uzbekistan prosecuted 264 people for terrorism, including 50 criminal cases.  In March, a district court sentenced a man to six years in prison for his involvement with the SDGT Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad in Syria and placed multiple citizens on a wanted list who joined the group upon its creation in 2014.  In November, a court in Kokand convicted 11 people of supporting a terrorist organization based on a series of meetings between 2021 and 2023 in which they allegedly discussed replacing the Uzbekistan government with a caliphate and traveling to Syria.  All 11 individuals were sentenced to six to 12 years in prison.

Associated documents