Preliminary hearings in the criminal case against blogger Aziz Hakimov, known online under the pseudonym “Comrade Aziz,” were held in Tashkent on Monday. The defense accused law enforcement agencies of falsifying documents, while a group of the blogger’s supporters obstructed the work of an independent journalist outside the courthouse.
Procedural “forgery”
Lawyer Sergey Mayorov said after the closed session that serious violations had been found in the case materials. According to the defense, investigators added documents to the case “retroactively” after the lawyer had completed reviewing the materials.
“This is forgery, this is a crime,” Mayorov said. He pointed to four unnumbered sheets inserted between pages 132 and 133. According to the lawyer, these documents contain an improper authorization by the city prosecutor allowing a GUVD investigator to conduct an investigation under articles on propaganda of war and incitement of hostility (Articles 150 and 156 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan), which violates jurisdiction rules.
Mayorov stressed that if the court recognizes these documents as inadmissible evidence, “the entire case, like a house of cards,” will collapse. A representative of the prosecutor’s office requested four days to prepare a response to the defense motion.
Authorship and health
During the conversation, Mayorov answered questions from Yep.uz about specific points of the charges:
- Defamation: The defense insists that Hakimov is not the author of the videos about officials’ families that formed the basis for the defamation charges. According to the lawyer, investigators separated materials regarding the actual author into a separate proceeding but continue to attribute complicity to Hakimov. “This video was published on his website without his consent, without his knowledge,” Mayorov claims.
- Expert examination: The lawyer confirmed the intention to request an additional examination of the content once the process moves to the merits stage.
- Health condition: Despite earlier statements about Hakimov’s critical condition, Mayorov said that at present “there are no grounds for concern” and the defendant’s condition is stable.
The lawyer clearly softened his rhetoric regarding health (in September he said Hakimov was “preparing for death,” now — “normal”). This may indicate either stabilization of his condition in pre-trial detention or a shift in defense tactics from emotional pressure to legal challenges to the evidence.
Outside the courthouse
The hearings were held behind closed doors. About 30 Hakimov supporters gathered outside the courthouse, both women and men, with many of the women behaving quite aggressively toward the author of this material.
Supporters of the blogger physically pushed the journalist away from the lawyer, trying to prevent recording the interview and asking questions. The defendant’s mother, who initially agreed to a dialogue, refused to comment in a harsh manner after the support group intervened, making remarks about the journalist’s voice and also stating her adherence to the policy of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Case background
Aziz Hakimov was arrested in September 2025. He faces charges under several articles of the Criminal Code, including propaganda of war over publications on the Telegram channel Comrade_Aziz, where Russian military rhetoric was circulated. Earlier, human rights activists from the Ezgulik society and other public figures accused Hakimov of organizing harassment campaigns and spreading fakes.
According to the case materials considered by Judge Sirojiddin Hasanov at the Shaykhantakhur District Criminal Court, Hakimov is charged under four articles of the Criminal Code: propaganda of war (Article 150), incitement of hostility (Article 156), as well as defamation and insult (Articles 139 and 140). The list of victims and complainants includes well-known public figures and journalists, including Nikita Makarenko, Sherzodkhon Kudratkhodja, Rasul Kusherbayev, and Nozima Muratova. Despite the wide list of complainants, none of the victims appeared at the preliminary hearing.
The next hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
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