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Uzbekistan

Verdict passed on "Taftish.uz" employees and former SSS officers

Verdict announced for "Taftish.uz" employees and former SSS officers

The Military Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan has announced the verdict in the case involving the staff of the "Taftish.uz" editorial office and officers of the State Security Service (SSS). This was reported by Abdurahmon Tashanov, the chairman of the "Ezgulik" Human Rights Society.

According to Tashanov, the defendants were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 4.1 to 10.6 years. The head of the "Taftish.uz" editorial office, Gayrat Aberayev, was sentenced to 10.6 years, while journalist Marjona Eshquvatova was sentenced to 4.1 years in prison. Two other representatives of the editorial office and former SSS officers were also sentenced to prison terms of over 10 years.

The trial was held behind closed doors. According to the information provided by Tashanov, the defendants were accused of crimes such as slander, insult, fraud, and extortion. According to the verdict, they will serve their sentences in general-regime penal colonies.

The case of the "Taftish.uz" employees began on January 16, 2026. At that time, the head of the website, Gayrat Aberayev, and editorial staff members Azizjon Yuldashev, Sardor Hamidov, Marjona Eshquvatova, and Dilshod Nishonov were detained under procedural order on suspicion of extortion and fraud.

A report dated April 23, 2026, stated that the case of the "Taftish.uz" employees was being investigated by Military Prosecutor's Office investigators. Abdurahmon Tashanov pointed out at the time that the reason for this was that several SSS officers were also among the accused in the case. The human rights activist stated that during the investigation, petitions from more than 400 citizens against the website's team were reviewed.

According to him, because some of the case files are classified and contain information related to investigative secrets, the details of the case have not been fully disclosed. For this reason, the court hearing was also held behind closed doors.

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