A criminal case has been initiated in Uzbekistan against the Tajik-speaking journalist from this country, Salim Inomzoda, who is accused of distributing “materials that threaten public safety.” Inomzoda, who is also the founder of the group “Uzbekiston Tojiklari” (“Tajiks of Uzbekistan”) on Facebook, was detained on July 13. According to information from three sources, he […]
A criminal case has been initiated in Uzbekistan against the Tajik-speaking journalist from this country, Salim Inomzoda, who is accused of distributing “materials that threaten public safety.”
Inomzoda, who is also the founder of the group “Uzbekiston Tojiklari” (“Tajiks of Uzbekistan”) on Facebook, was detained on July 13.
According to information from three sources, he is currently being held in the pre-trial detention center of the Mirzo-Ulugbek district in Tashkent.
According to the materials from the police department of the Mirzo-Ulugbek district, Salim Inomzoda is charged under Article 244, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan. This article provides for a punishment of imprisonment for a term of five to eight years for the production or distribution of materials that threaten public safety.
The case materials state that Salim Inomzoda reposted on social media in October 2022 a song by Tajik singer Afzalsho Shodieva about “Samarkand and Bukhara,” which “lasts 3 minutes and 54 seconds, has a religious character and signs of separatism.”
The song by Afzalsho Shodieva about “Samarkand and Bukhara” was first performed in 2013. At that time, relations between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan were strained, and a visa regime was in place between the two neighboring countries.
Salim Inomzoda is 58 years old; he is a journalist who worked for the publication “Ovozi Tojik” (Voice of the Tajik).
Civil activists from the Tajik diaspora in Bukhara, Samarkand, and Tashkent reported to Radio Ozodi on July 12 that they are concerned about the detention of Salim Inomzoda. One of the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that security forces summoned other administrators of the “Uzbekiston Tojiklari” group for questioning. In particular, according to sources from Radio Ozodi, police detained one of the administrators of this group in Bukhara and brought him in for questioning at the police department of the Mirzo-Ulugbek district in Tashkent.
The “Uzbekiston Tojiklari” group mainly publishes articles about the cultural life of Tajiks in Uzbekistan and cultural ties between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It has about 15,000 subscribers.