Trial begins in Jizzakh for blogger Sirojiddin Adilov

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Blogger Sirojiddin Adilov

An open court hearing has begun at the Jizzakh City Criminal Court in the case of blogger Sirojiddin Adilov, head of the company Sirojiddin Media LLC.

According to official information from the judicial authorities of Jizzakh Region, the first hearing in the case took place on July 20, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. The case is being heard by Judge Sanjarbek Igamkulovich Rasulov.

Investigators have charged Adilov under Article 165, Part 2(a) of Uzbekistan’s Criminal Code (extortion), as well as Article 168, Part 3(b) and (v) (fraud).

According to the court, the defendant remains in custody pending trial.

From arrest to trial

Sirojiddin Adilov was arrested in March 2026 in connection with a criminal case investigated by the Investigation Department of the Samarkand Regional Internal Affairs Directorate.

At the time, law enforcement authorities reported that a resident of the Pastdargom district of Samarkand Region had filed a complaint with police. According to investigators, in August 2024 he transferred money to a Tashkent resident identified as S.A., born in 1980, expecting assistance in resolving a financial dispute with another individual.

Investigators alleged that the suspect, despite having no official authority to do so, accepted the money while promising to resolve the matter in the complainant’s favor but failed to fulfill that promise.

The criminal case was initially opened under Article 168, Part 3 (fraud), as well as Articles 28 and 211 of the Criminal Code, related to complicity in bribery.

In the court’s latest official statement, however, Article 211 is no longer listed among the charges. Instead, prosecutors have added Article 165, which concerns extortion.

Penalties under the charges

Article 165, Part 2(a) of Uzbekistan’s Criminal Code provides for liability for extortion committed repeatedly or by a dangerous repeat offender. The offense carries a prison sentence of between five and ten years.

Adilov is also charged under Article 168, Part 3, Clauses “b” and “v” of the Criminal Code (fraud). The article provides for a fine, corrective labor, or imprisonment for between five and eight years.

One of the country’s best-known bloggers

Sirojiddin Adilov runs the Sirojiddin Media project and is one of Uzbekistan’s most prominent bloggers. His YouTube channel has more than 900,000 subscribers. He has previously covered socially significant issues and high-profile court cases.

Following Adilov’s arrest, human rights activist Abdurakhmon Tashanov alleged procedural violations during the hearing on pretrial detention. According to Tashanov, lawyers who arrived from Tashkent were not allowed to participate in the proceedings, and the blogger was represented instead by a state-appointed attorney.

The trial on the merits of the charges has only just begun. The court will determine Adilov’s legal responsibility after completing its examination of the case.

Adilov case comes amid a series of prosecutions of bloggers and journalists

The case against Sirojiddin Adilov is being heard against the backdrop of several high-profile criminal proceedings involving journalists and bloggers in Uzbekistan in 2026.

In January, individuals associated with the Taftish.uz project were detained on allegations of extortion and fraud. During the same month, Furkat Ruzmetov, head of the Qonun doirasida project, and editorial staff member Azamat Avezov were taken into custody. Also in January, the Margilan City Criminal Court sentenced journalist Elyor Tojiboyev to four years in prison.

In February, criminal proceedings were launched against Demokrat.uz founder Fazliddinkhon Mekhmonov and blogger Aziz Goipnazarov. According to investigators, they demanded money in exchange for removing a compromising video from publication.

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