The U.S. State Department's estimate of the number of Hizb ut-Tahrir members in Kyrgyzstan is excessive, the Kyrgyz Interior Ministry said, Interfax reported.
"The terrorism report of the U.S. State Department for last year claims that the number of Hizb ut-Tahrir members in Kyrgyzstan allegedly grew from 5,000 to 15,000 in 2006-2008," says a report by the ministry on Monday.
"The number of party members indicated in the department's report is excessive. Our analysis shows that the number of Hizb ut-Tahrir members is on the decline in the republic,' the ministry said.
There were 2,048 Hizb ut-Tahrir members in Kyrgyzstan in 2007, 1,833 in 2008 and 1,603 in the first four months of this year, the ministry said.
"A total of 118 Hizb ut-Tahrir members are engaged in the activity of the extremist organization, while the rest share its ideas," the ministry said.
Hizb ut-Tahrir is a banned political group in Kyrgyzstan.
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