Four Taftish.uz employees detained

On January 16, four employees of the Taftish.uz website were detained on suspicion of extortion and fraud. The Tashkent City Main Department of Internal Affairs reported this.

According to the statement, Gairat Aberaev, born in 1988, along with Taftish.uz media outlet employees Azizjon Yuldashev (born in 1992), Sardor Hamidov (born in 2000), Marjona Eshkuvvatova (born in 2006), and Dilshod Nishonov (born in 1998), were detained in accordance with procedural requirements on suspicion of committing crimes under Articles 165 (extortion) and 168 (fraud) of Uzbekistan’s Criminal Code.

Authorities are currently also checking their possible involvement in crimes stipulated under Article 139 (defamation) and Article 244-6 (dissemination of false information) of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan.

Reports claiming that the Taftish.uz media outlet has been shut down are unfounded. The outlet continues its daily operations. Additional information will be provided as the investigation progresses.