the Kyrgyz government was "the most tolerant" of all Central Asian regimes towards HT—allowing leaflet distribution—and HT Central Asian headquarters was moved here from Uzbekistan. However, the party increased in "confidence and audacity" and in October 2004 was declared the "most significant extremist forces" in Kyrgyzstan. Tajikistan As of 2004, there were an estimated 3,000–5,000 HT members in Tajikistan. About 60,000 people lost their lives in Tajikistan's 1992 to 1997 civil war where Islamists and liberal democrats fought against the Soviet old guard and unrest remains as of 2016. Hizb ut-Tahrir activity in Tajikistan is primarily in the north near the Fergana Valley. In 2005, The Tajik government arrested 99 members of Hizb ut-Tahrir and 58 members in 2006. In 2007, Tajik courts convicted two HT members and sentenced them to 10 1/2 and 9 3/4 years respectively. Membership in Hizb ut-Tahrir is illegal and members are subject to arrest and imprisonment. Turkmenistan As of 2004 HT had no "noticeable" presence in Turkmenistan in part at least because of the nomadic nature of the population, the relatively shallow Islamic roots in its culture, and the extreme repression of the government. As of 2013 the American Foreign Policy Council also reports that political Islam in general has made little noticeable headway in Turkmenistan. Uzbekistan Uzbekistan has been called the site of the "main ideological battle of competition over the region's future". It is the most populous former-Soviet Central Asian country, and possessor of the region's "largest and most effective army". As the "ancient spiritual and cultural center" of the Hanafi school (madhhab) of Sunni Islam, it is more religious than the other ex-Soviet countries and the area where HT first set up operation in Central Asia in "the early to mid-1990s". As of late 2004, HT had far more members in Uzbekistan than the other ex-Soviet states, with estimates ranging from 7,000 (Western intelligence) up to 60,000 (Uzbekistani government). HT has vigorously attacked the Uzbek political system and strongman president Islam Karimov, as corrupt, shameless, hypocritical and "an insolent and evil Jew, who hates" Islam. Terrorist bombings, especially in 1999 (killing sixteen and injuring over 120) and 2004 (killing 54) were blamed in part on HT by the government and have led to a brutal crackdown. The Uzbekistan government has been criticized by human rights observers for detained HT members (among other Islamists) without charge or trial for lengthy periods, torturing