On July 15, the Court of Appeal of Samarkand’s representatives left the sentence of Otabek Sattoriy unchanged. Previously, the blogger was sentenced to 6.5 years, after which the lawyer gave notice of appeal.
The panel of judges ruled to return to him two apartments, the acquisition of which he was accused of corruption by the prosecutor. The lawyer intends to file a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court.
On May 10, the Criminal Court of Muzrabad district of Surkhandarya region found the blogger guilty of committing crimes under Articles 139 (Libel) and 165 (Extortion) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
A public figure and one of the authorities’ consistent opponents in economic policy, Yuli Yusupov, commented on the verdict by saying that “now the person will have to sit for 6.5 years, not only in the absence of a blackmail tool (How did he blackmail?), but even an object of blackmail (which was returned to him). The world jurisprudence has never seen such a thing … It shows how easily the authorities can deal with unwanted people and what is “justice” in Uzbekistan.”
Earlier, ACCA wrote that in the media sphere, the case of the provincial blogger Sattoriy is considered as a warning. Otabek criticized the local authorities, although he always emphasized his patriotism and dissatisfaction with foreign critics of the regime.
At the suggestion of the official Tashkent, the local authorities organized a show trial in order to intimidate even the capital’s journalists and bloggers burdened with self-censorship, whose publications and posts on social networks raise the degree of public discontent with the actions of officials. The Ministry of Internal Affairs even hastened to warn the media and the blogosphere about responsibility when discussing the blogger’s case.
Officers of the Department of Internal Affairs of Termez detained Otabek Sattoriy on January 29, 2021. A video was spread on social networks in which law enforcement officers forcibly put the man in a car and take him away. Initially, the criminal case was initiated under Part 1 of Article 165 (Extortion), then it was re-qualified to Part 2 of this Article, later new charges were brought.
Now the persecution of another blogger has begun in Kashkadarya. On July 1, the deputy hokim of Yakkabag district for mahalla’s issues and family support, Sarvar Avlaev, wrote a statement to the District Department of Internal Affairs against blogger Elmurod Odilov. The official informed of the videos on social networks, allegedly undermining the authority of the district hokimiyat leadership, and asked to take legal actions. The blogger has already been interrogated and a pre-investigation check of the official’s appeal is underway.
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