According to Daryo, the initial court session was held on April 14, 2025, at the Mirzo Ulugbek District Criminal Court, presided over by Judge Jahongir Saidov. During the hearing, it was revealed that Eshonkhonov is being charged with disseminating false information.
At the start of the hearing, Judge Saidov announced that the session was open but prohibited media representatives from taking photos, videos, or audio recordings. He stated that journalists could attend only as observers and take handwritten notes, adding that he had no objection to them later using the information to prepare materials.
In response, one of the defense lawyers objected, saying: "With this action, you’ve essentially preemptively rejected any future petitions we might submit on this matter. This raises doubts about your impartiality in handling the case."
Judge Saidov replied that he had issued a special ruling on the matter and had no intention of revisiting it. The defense then requested permission to record audio of the session under the supervision of the judge or a court assistant, with the recordings to be shared with both parties after the trial concluded. This request was also denied. Following that, both the defense attorneys and the defendant challenged the judge’s impartiality and filed a motion for his recusal — which was also rejected.
In his testimony, Akmal Eshonkhonov stated that he was not the author of the articles about the Supreme Judicial Council and its activities, and that the Ministry of Internal Affairs officer responsible for initiating the case had failed to verify this before submitting it to court.
"Even if I were the author of the article and was being charged because of that, I wouldn’t take it personally," Eshonkhonov said.
He also claimed that the Supreme Judicial Council had never formally requested a retraction from the editorial office and that if such a request had been made, he would have been willing to publish one.
Judge Saidov then questioned Eshonkhonov about the article titled “Questions for Kholmumin Yodgorov”, published by the editorial office on February 15, 2025. The judge specifically referred to the part stating:
"Despite being deemed unfit for judicial appointment by the High Qualification Board of Judges, B.A. was appointed as a judge of the Termiz City Criminal Court by a 2021 decision of the Supreme Judicial Council. Similarly, T.Sh. was appointed chair of the Yakkabog District Criminal Court, K.R. to the Karakul Interdistrict Court, S.B. to the Gulistan District Criminal Court, A.U. to the Yangiyol Interdistrict Court, A.S. to the Mirzo Ulugbek Interdistrict Court, and S.N. to the Bukhara Interdistrict Economic Court. The list goes on, and the editorial team has enough information about many other judges and court chairs who received appointments."
