Eighteen alleged religious extremists went on trial in Uzbekistan\'s Kashkadarya Oblast on 20 September, bringing to 47 the number of people on trial in the area, RFE/RL\'s Uzbek Service reported. The 18, who are all reportedly residents of Qarshi, were arrested after violence broke out in Tashkent and Bukhara in late March and early April. They are charged with membership in the banned extremist organization Hizb-ut-Tahrir, carrying out propaganda activities, and attempting to overthrow the country\'s constitutional system. A relative of one of the accused told RFE/RL\'s Uzbek Service that the defendants maintain their innocence, but some of the lawyers representing them are not even trying to defend them in court. Thirty-one defendants went on trial on similar charges in Kaskadarya Oblast in early September. Two have already received 14-year prison terms. (RFE/RL)