Margilan Court Sentences Former “Anticorruption” Journalist Elyor Tojiboyev to Four Years in Maximum-Security Colony

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — On 20 January, the Margilan City Criminal Court delivered a verdict against Elyor Tojiboyev, a special correspondent for the “Anticorruption” publication in the Ferghana region and former employee of Effect.uz, the regional court press service reported.

Tojiboyev was found guilty under multiple articles of the Criminal Code: paragraph “g” of Part 3 of Article 139 (defamation motivated by selfish or other base reasons), paragraph “a” of Part 3 of Article 140 (insult in connection with the performance of official or civil duties by the victim), Part 1 of Article 165 (extortion), Part 1 of Article 219 (resisting a representative of authority or a person performing civil duties), paragraph “a” of Part 2 of Article 227 (seizure, destruction, damage, or concealment of documents of special importance, including passports, ID cards, or military service documents), and Part 1 of Article 244‑6 (dissemination of false information).

The total sentence amounted to three years and ten months of imprisonment. However, taking into account Articles 60 and 61 of the Criminal Code (imposition of punishment for multiple convictions), the court revoked the previously granted conditional early release and ultimately sentenced Tojiboyev to four years in a maximum-security colony.

It is noted that in November 2021, Tojiboyev had already been sentenced to three years in a colony-settlement under Articles 219 and 236 of the Criminal Code. That sentence was based on the distribution of a video recording of a conflict between Effect.uz staff and the chairman of the Termez District Criminal Court in his office.