Uzbek Rights Defender Given Rare Access To Imprisoned Bloggers

A rare trip to prison by a Uzbek rights activist to see two bloggers who many say are unjustly jailed revealed one hopeful of an early release and life without journalism, while the other's mood was grim.

Abdurahmon Tashanov, the head of the human rights group Ezgulik (Goodness), was recently allowed to see Otabek Sattoriy and Dauletmurat Tajimuratov, who are serving 6 1/2- and 16-year prison terms, respectively, in different prisons.

The sentencing of the men has been widely condemned by Uzbek and international rights groups as a gross miscarriage of justice and blow to any hope of freedom of speech in the country.

In describing his meetings with the bloggers, Tashanov says he noticed two entirely different moods -- one really down and the other optimistic about his future.

Sattoriy's plans for life after prison include learning a new profession in the IT industry, according to Tashanov.

Sattoriy, 42, is known for investigating corruption allegations against local officials and criticizing regional authorities in his native Surkhondaryo Province on his vlog People's Opinion, which was on YouTube and Telegram until his arrest in 2021.

But Sattoriy says now he will not go back to blogging in the future and wants to "live a quiet life," Tashanov told RFE/RL after the prison visit in the southern city of Qarshi on January 13. "Otabek told me, 'I burned all my notes, I have no intention of blogging ever again,'" Tashanov said.

Sattoriy is "counting the days" until his expected early release in April, Tashanov said, adding that prison authorities told him Sattoriy would soon be freed.

He was convicted of extortion and slander in May 2021 in a case human rights groups say was politically motivated to punish the Termez-based blogger for his journalistic work.

Sattoriy's lawyer said the charges against him were fabricated and that the prosecution was unable to present any material evidence of wrongdoing by the blogger.

But Uzbek authorities reject the criticism, saying Sattoriy's arrest and conviction were lawful. His arrest was described by Human Rights Watch as blow to freedom of speech in Uzbekistan.

Sattoriy was transferred in December from a prison to a dormitory-like penitentiary located near an industrial facility where convicts work alongside regular employees. He works in a sewing factory, Tashanov said.

'Far From Optimistic'

In the prison in Navoi, in central Uzbekistan, there is no evidence of early release for 44-year-old Tajimuratov, a lawyer and blogger who is serving a 16-year sentence for anti-government protests in his native Karakalpakstan region in July 2022.

Daulet Tajimuratov (file photo)

"Rather nervous and far from optimistic," Tashanov described Tajimuratov's mood after visiting him on January 12.

"He told me that on December 25 he was accused of violating internal prison rules," Tashanov told RFE/RL. "He also complained that letters and parcels sent to him from outside came after a delay, and that it's very difficult for his own letters to get out of the prison."

Tajimuratov, a lawyer for the El Khyzmetinde (At The People's Service) newspaper, was sentenced early last year with 21 other defendants accused of undermining the constitutional order of the country for taking part in mass protests in Karakalpakstan's capital, Nukus. Tajimuratov denies the charge.

In September 2023, his lawyer said Tajimuratov was being kept in solitary confinement with no access to information from the outside world -- such as newspapers or radio -- and wasn't allowed to use the prison library.

The lawyer added that Tajimuratov was also being denied access to adequate health care and not given proper meals. But Tashanov said Tajimuratov told him he was no longer being mistreated in prison.

Tashanov told RFE/RL he was allowed by prison authorities to have a private meeting with the incarcerated lawyer, though he said Tajimuratov told him prison officials exercised "excessive control of inmates' meetings with relatives that breaches prisoners' rights."

Uzbekistan says 21 people died in the Nukus protests that were sparked by Tashkent's announcement of a planned change to the Uzbek Constitution that would have removed the region's right to self-determination. The violence led the government to scrap the proposal.

The rights group Ezgulik said the meetings between Sattoriy and Tajimuratov took place after it asked the authorities to allow access to a "number of prisoners."

Uzbekistan has jailed several bloggers and even ordinary people who criticized the government and the authoritarian president, Shavkat Mirziyoev, online.