On January 20, 2026, the Margilan City Criminal Court found journalist Elyor Tojiboev guilty under a number of articles of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan and sentenced him to four years of imprisonment to be served in a strict-regime colony. In the information published by the press service of the courts of the Fergana Region, Tojiboev is listed as E. T., born in 1990.
According to the official statement of the courts of the Fergana Region, Tojiboev was found guilty of committing crimes provided for by:
- Article 139, part 3, item “g” (defamation);
- Article 140, part 3, item “a” (insult);
- Article 165, part 1 (extortion);
- Article 219, part 1 (resistance to a representative of authority or a person performing a civic duty);
- Article 227, part 2, item “a” (unlawful seizure, destruction, damage or concealment of documents, seals, stamps, forms, state registration license plates of vehicles);
- Article 244-6, part 1 (dissemination of false information).
The official statement also notes that the convicted person had previously worked as a journalist for LLC “AK XALQPARVAR GURUHI” (media outlet “ANTIKORRUPTSIYA”) and had been previously convicted.
The court also revoked the previously granted early conditional release. As a result, the final sentence was determined as four years of imprisonment.
The verdict may be appealed through appellate or cassation procedures to the judicial panel for criminal cases of the Fergana Regional Court within the time limits established by law.
Link to the case of Effect.uz journalists (2021)
The name of Elyor Tojiboev had previously appeared in a criminal case against journalists of Effect.uz.
In 2021, the Kashkadarya Regional Criminal Court considered a case involving Effect.uz journalists, including Elyor Tojiboev, following a conflict at the Termez District Court with the court chairman Odil Begimkulov. At that time, the journalists were accused, among other things, of resisting a representative of authority and interfering in the administration of justice.
The court then partially acquitted Tojiboev, finding him not guilty under the articles on defamation and insult. However, he was found guilty under Article 219, part 2, and Article 236, part 1, of the Criminal Code and sentenced to three years of imprisonment.
Link to Taftish.uz
In 2021, it was reported that after working for Effect.uz, Elyor Tojiboev worked as a correspondent for the media outlet Taftish.uz.
On January 16, 2026, five people connected with this outlet were detained in Tashkent. They are suspected of committing crimes provided for by under Articles 165 (extortion) and 168 (fraud) of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan.