Blogger Olimjon Haydarov’s case brought to court; he might be sentenced to 10-year imprisonment 

According to him, on October 10, the investigative body charged Haydarov with Article 139-2 of the Criminal Code (defamation by posting in the mass media, telecommunications networks or the Internet), Article 139-3, Paragraph “a” (serious or extreme defamation by accusation of committing a serious crime), Article 140-3, Paragraph “a” (insulting the victim in connection with the performance of his service or civil duty), Article 165-2, Paragraphs “a”, “b” (extortion in large amounts by a dangerous recidivist). He can be sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The hearing date will be announced later, the Supreme Court said.

His lawyer, Dilshod Jabborov, told Gazeta.uz that he believes that the accusations against the blogger are unfounded.

It should be noted that Fergana blogger Olimjon Haydarov, known for his critical statements, was arrested on July 29 during an operative event by law enforcement agencies on suspicion of committing a crime.

According to the decision of the Kokand city court on criminal cases, the blogger prepared a critical material about the reduction of market stalls due to the increase in the distance for the fire engines to pass (in June, a large fire broke out in the market, and at the time of the incident, it was reported that the firefighters could not pass due to the narrow lanes).

The prisoner’s brother reported the following relying on Olimjon Haydarov’s words: “when he was talking with an acquaintance on the street in Baghdad district, police officers came, turned his hand behind his back, placed money into my brother’s car and forced him to touch the chemically treated money”. This information has not been confirmed or denied.