The Military Court handed down its verdict against staff members of Taftish.uz and State Security Service officers Thursday, sentencing them to prison terms ranging from 4 years and 1 month to 10 years and 6 months.
Taftish.uz's editor-in-chief, Gayrat Aberayev, was sentenced to 10 years and 6 months, while journalist Marjona Eshquvvatova received 4 years and 1 month.
Two other Taftish.uz staff members, along with former State Security Service officers, were also sentenced to more than 10 years in prison. They were charged with offenses including libel, insult, fraud and extortion. Under the ruling, which was handed down in a closed court session, the defendants will serve their sentences in general-regime penal colonies.
The case dates back to January 16, 2026, when Aberayev and four other Taftish.uz staff — Azizjon Yuldashev, Sardor Khamidov, Eshquvvatova and correspondent Dilshod Nishonov — were detained in Tashkent on suspicion of fraud and extortion. Uzbek authorities alleged that the outlet, which operated under a company called Elite-Media, published videos accusing citizens and businesses of wrongdoing and then demanded payment to take the material down. Aberayev had already been convicted once before, in May 2025, on charges of defaming government officials; he was banned from blogging and placed on probation at the time, but investigators say he continued running Taftish.uz's channels through a profile registered in his brother's name.
The investigation was transferred to the Military Prosecutor's Office in April 2026 after several State Security Service employees were implicated alongside the Taftish.uz staff, and by that point authorities said they had reviewed more than 400 complaints filed by citizens against the outlet's team. Rights advocates — including Ezgulik chairman Abdurakhmon Tashanov, who was also the first to disclose Thursday's verdict — had said earlier that parts of the case file were classified, making a closed trial likely.
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