DUSHANBE, March 28 (Reuters) - A Tajik court sentenced a teenager to eight years in jail on Wednesday for being a member of a banned Islamist group, the court's judge said.

Muminbek Mamedov, 17, was charged with being a member of Hizb-ut-Tahrir, an Islamist group banned in Central Asia, Judge Ismon Giyoyev told Reuters by telephone from the city of Khujand where the trial took place.

"The court took into account his age ... Usually those convicted for such crimes face up to 20 years in jail," he said.

Hizb-ut-Tahrir seeks to create a global caliphate, an Islamic state where God's word was law ruled over by a caliph, or "successor" to Prophet Mohammad.

The group advocates non-violent policies, but media reports often link it to terrorism investigations and opponents accuse it of encouraging violent extremism.

Governments in Central Asia have been criticised in the West for cracking down on dissent and religious freedom.

Regional leaders have defended themselves, saying their policies are aimed at preventing a perceived rise of Islamist militancy in the predominantly Muslim region.

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