[RFE/RL] The imam of a large mosque in southern Kyrgyzstan is on trial for inciting religious discord. Kyrgyz human rights groups Bir Duyno (One World) and Kylym Shamy (Torch of the Century) reported security measures were beefed up near the judicial building as Imam Rashod Qori Kamolov's trial began on July 24.Kamolov, the imam at the As-Sarakhsi Mosque in Osh and an influential religious cleric, was arrested in February on suspicion of being an active Hizb ut-Tahrir member and for calling for the establishment of a caliphate in Kyrgyzstan. He pleaded not guilty.
Kamolov has previously been detained by authorities in Kyrgyzstan, causing large protests in Osh's Kara-Suu district by some of his thousands of followers.
Kamolov's father, Rafiq Qori Kamalov, was the imam at the same mosque before being killed in 2006 in an operation that Uzbek security forces took part in.