Uzbek man on trial in South Korea over funding Al-Qaeda-linked group
An Uzbek man went on trial in South Korea accused of sending about $920 to Al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group Khatiba al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (KTJ). A Seoul court is due to deliver its ruling later in October, The Korea Herald reported.
The man in question was indicted in June while in custody on charges including a violation of South Korea’s Counter-Terrorism Act.
He is accused of transferring 1.25 million won into accounts designated by a member of Khatiba al-Tawhid wal-Jihad between January 2024 and January 2025. The allegations are that the contact approached him on Telegram, introduced himself as a fellow Uzbek, and asked for money to cover living expenses.
The man is said to have entered South Korea in April 2021 on a language study visa, according to SBS. He first got in touch with KTJ in November 2023.
Read more: Uzbek student in South Korea arrested for channelling charity funds to Hamas and Al-Qaeda affiliate
He is also accused of agreeing to collect money from another person in South Korea and forward it to Syria. That transfer never happened because the other person did not send the funds, the Herald reported.
What is KTJ?
KTJ is a Syria-based terrorist organisation that the UN Security Council has identified as being associated with Al-Qaeda. Its listing also attributes the 2016 attack on the Chinese embassy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to the group.
In Uzbekistan, the Supreme Court designated the group a terrorist organisation and banned its activities on 26 September 2016. It appears as «Tavhid va jihod» on the court’s published list.
Read more: Uzbekistan updates its list of banned extremist online content
- The UN added KTJ to its ISIL and Al-Qaeda sanctions list on March 7, 2022. The United States designated it a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on the same day.
- UN’s listing requires member states to implement an asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo against the group.
