Today, an open trial began in the Uchtepa District Criminal Court in the case of Alisher Tursunov, born in 1974 in Namangan and known by the pseudonym Mubashshir Ahmad. This was announced by Aziz Abidov, spokesperson of the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan.
The case is being heard under the chairmanship of Judge B. Rakhimov of the Uchtepa District Court.
According to the indictment, Tursunov is charged under:
- Article 156, Part 2 (incitement of national, racial, ethnic, or religious hatred),
- Article 244-1, Part 3, Clause “g” (production, storage, distribution, or demonstration of materials threatening public security and public order),
- Article 244-3 (illegal production, storage, import, or distribution of religious materials).
The maximum penalty under Article 244-1, Part 3 is 8 years of imprisonment.
Tursunov has been placed in custody as a preventive measure.
Background:
Alisher Tursunov was born on January 1, 1974, in Namangan. From 1991 to 1996, he studied at the Tashkent Islamic Institute and Cairo’s Al-Azhar University. From 2002 to 2015, he studied under Sheikh Muhammad Sodiq Muhammad Yusuf.
In 2023, Tursunov announced the closure of all projects of the Azon New Media group, founded by him in 2017 (including Azon.uz, Azon FM, and Azon TV). In November, he launched a new platform, Azon Global, which operates in Uzbek, Russian, English, and Turkish.
On December 28, 2023, he was detained in Turkey and placed in a deportation center. On February 21, 2024, he was released.
In February 2025, it was reported that a criminal case was initiated against him under Article 244-2, Part 1 of the Uzbek Criminal Code (establishment, leadership, or participation in banned religious organizations).
In May 2025, Tursunov was again detained in Turkey and deported to Uzbekistan.
Further details will be announced following the outcome of the trial.
More materials about Mubashshir Ahmad: