Midweek: Symbol of honesty dies, while opposition rises in Uzbekistan

The former president of Uruguay, José Mujica, known as the “poorest president in the world” and a symbol of clean hands, honesty, and simplicity, has passed away.

Mubashir Ahmed, who had been wanted for a long time, has been brought back to Uzbekistan and arrested on suspicion of preparing and storing illegal materials.

A party has emerged in Uzbekistan that is capable of calling itself an opposition party. That party is the People’s Democratic Party, which is aiming for second place in the elections.

QALAMPIR.UZ’s Midweek program reviews significant events in Uzbekistan and the world up to the middle of this week.

Opposition Running for Second Place

On May 13, during a plenary session of the Legislative Chamber, the issue of the People’s Democratic Party of Uzbekistan faction declaring itself an opposition force in parliament was discussed. The head of the PDP faction, Ulugbek Inoyatov, announced an official statement regarding the matter. The PDP faction surprised many by declaring that it disagrees with several aspects of the government’s program and activities.

In particular, it was pointed out that issues such as the lack of state control in the economy, the legal allowance of privatizing strategically important state assets, the absence of a differentiated tax system based on income levels, and the weakness of state regulation in the pharmaceutical sector contradicted the interests of the party's voters.

This step by the PDP coincided with the approval of a law designed to expand guaranteed rights for the opposition in parliament, which had been under discussion since the beginning of the year. The announcement drew widespread attention.

However, this occurrence within the parliament does not necessarily warrant a positive assessment or recognition. The concept of an opposition in parliament is not new—either legally or in practice. Over the years, different parties have declared themselves the opposition. For example, the PDP made this claim in 2010, and in 2015 both the PDP and the Adolat Social Democratic Party made similar declarations.

Naturally, the recent move by the opposition may be seen as a logical continuation of the changes taking place in the legislature. Recently, unusual events have emerged from within parliament. For instance, on April 29, at a plenary session of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis, four parties voted against the draft law “On Amendments and Addenda to the Labor Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan aimed at liberalizing social obligations established for the private sector,” which had been proposed by the Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party (UzLiDeP).

The draft law had clearly reflected the interests of entrepreneurs—the main electorate of UzLiDeP. It included proposals for amending the Labor Code. However, the bill sparked significant controversy and, ultimately, did not receive enough votes and was returned to its initiators. In the voting results, all 57 UzLiDeP deputies supported the bill, but 71 deputies from four other parties voted against it. Two members of the "Milliy Tiklanish" Party abstained.

Less than a week later, on May 5, a joint meeting of the UzLiDeP and "Milliy Tiklanish" factions was held in the Legislative Chamber. During this meeting, the two factions announced the creation of a new political alliance in parliament called the “Development Bloc.” This bloc includes 93 deputies—64 from UzLiDeP and 29 from "Milliy Tiklanish" — making it the largest parliamentary force.

This allows the bloc to easily pass its proposals and draft laws during voting. What’s interesting is that this bloc was formed shortly after the ruling party’s initiative was rejected by other parties.

Mubashir Ahmed Now in Prison

On May 8 of this year, it was reported that Mubashir Ahmed (Alisher Tursunov), founder of the information and analytical portal Azon Global, was detained as a suspect at his home in Istanbul’s Bahçeşehir district. It was reported that on the same day, a preliminary interrogation was conducted with the participation of his lawyers.

According to the latest information given to his lawyers that day, after the interrogation, Alisher Tursunov was to be transferred to the Istanbul Deportation Center and released the following day. However, Azon Global reported that even four days later, the Turkish Immigration Department had not given any information about Mubashir Ahmed’s location, health, or legal process to either his lawyers or family.

The portal added that under Turkish law, the family must be informed if someone is under surveillance, and the individual must be allowed to communicate with relatives. This led his family to become seriously concerned about Mubashir Ahmed’s condition. It was emphasized that he had long suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure and needed regular medication.

Meanwhile, reports emerged that Mubashir Ahmed had been deported from Turkey to Uzbekistan. The deportation was originally scheduled for May 9, but due to public intervention, he was first sent to Edirne. Turkish lawyer Ibrahim Ergin said that Mubashir Ahmed was held under intelligence surveillance at the Edirne Migration Office and then returned to Istanbul. He claimed that Mubashir Ahmed had been deported to Uzbekistan through illegal means, bypassing the legal system.

Shortly thereafter, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs officially confirmed Alisher Tursunov’s deportation. The statement said that Alisher Akhmadovich Tursunov, born in 1974 and wanted internationally by Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, had been detained by Turkish law enforcement on May 8 and deported to Uzbekistan on May 10.

Since the information disseminated through the platforms affiliated with Tursunov contained, according to expert evaluations, content that violates Uzbekistan’s laws, a criminal case was initiated under Article 244-1 (preparation, storage, distribution, or display of materials that threaten public safety and order) and Article 244-3 (illegal preparation, storage, import, or distribution of religious materials) of the Criminal Code. A preventive detention measure was applied.

It was reported that investigative actions are currently underway as part of the criminal case.

Generally, such issues with Mubashir Ahmed have occurred repeatedly over the past two years. While working in Uzbekistan, he frequently reported on his social media accounts about being summoned by law enforcement.

There have also been sharp contradictions regarding the charges against him. For example, earlier this year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs had announced that Mubashir Ahmed (Alisher Ahmadovich Tursunov), a religious scholar and blogger and founder of Azon Global, was wanted under Part 1 of Article 244-2 (involvement in religious extremist, separatist, fundamentalist, or banned organizations). However, Ministry spokesperson Shokhrukh Giyasov later clarified that this was a technical error and that Mubashir Ahmed was not suspected under that article.

It was revealed that on August 11, 2023, the Investigation Department of the Shaykhontohur district of Tashkent city’s Internal Affairs Department had opened a criminal case under Article 244-3 against Tursunov (aka Mubashir Ahmed). On August 29 of that year, a search was declared for him, with the condition that the measure would be “a written promise of good behavior.”

It should be recalled that in August 2023, the website Azon.uz—founded by Mubashir Ahmed—ceased operations. Following this, he moved to Turkey and continued his work with the Azon Global portal. On December 28, 2023, it was reported that he was taken from his home by Turkish police and placed in the Binkılıç Deportation Center in Istanbul’s Çatalca district.

Later, on February 21, 2024, Mubashir Ahmed returned to his family from the deportation center at the Uzbek Consulate General in Istanbul.

A Symbol of Justice and Honesty Has Died

On May 13, José Mujica, the former president of Uruguay who served from 2010 to 2015 and has long been a symbol of honesty, justice, and simplicity, passed away at the age of 89. The current president of Uruguay was among the first to announce the news and express gratitude for Mujica’s service.

“It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of our colleague Pepe Mujica. President, activist, leader, and public servant. We will miss you dearly, dear light. Thank you for everything you gave us and your deep love for your people,” he wrote.

Mujica had been in poor health for some time. It was announced earlier this year that his health was deteriorating and that his death was imminent. Last year, he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. In early January, he told Busqueda that the cancer had spread to his liver. After that, Mujica decided to stop fighting the illness.

As noted earlier, Mujica will likely be remembered for generations for his honesty, justice, and many noble qualities. He was born on May 20, 1935, in Montevideo, Uruguay. He was a member of the leftist Tupamaros movement and spent nearly 14 years in military prisons. From 2005 to 2008, he served as Uruguay’s Minister of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries. In the 2009 presidential election, he ran as the Broad Front party’s candidate and won. He took office in March 2010.

During his presidency, Mujica implemented many liberal reforms. In 2015, he stepped down and was later elected to the Senate, though he resigned in early 2018.

Mujica earned the nickname “the world’s poorest president” due to his modest lifestyle. He lived on a small family farm near Montevideo and donated nearly all of his salary to charity. In 2014, he turned down a $1 million offer for his 1987 Volkswagen Beetle. Even after leaving the Senate, he refused to accept a pension and continued his simple life in a modest rural home.