Avaz Tokhtakhodjaev

Extra Bio Info:

Avaz Tokhtakhodjaev was imprisoned for his religious activity. 

On November 26, 1999, security service agents arrested Tokhtakhodjaev, an economist, from his home in Tashkent after suspecting he was a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir. Authorities also conducted a search of his home without a warrant. Tokhtakhodjaev was reportedly charged with several crime including “incitement of ethnic, racial, or religious hatred” (Art. 156 UCC), “attempts to overthrow the constitutional order” (Art. 159 UCC), “illegal formation of public associations or religious organizations” (Art. 216 UCC), “preparation or distribution of materials containing a threat to public security or public order” (Art. 244-1 UCC), "creation, management, and participation in religious extremist, separatist, fundamentalist, or other banned organizations" (Art. 244-2 UCC), and "smuggling, that is carriage through the customs border...materials that propagandize religious extremism, separatism, and fundamentalism" (Art. 246 UCC). Security service officers reportedly subjected Tokhtakhodjaev to extensive torture to secure a false confession.

In March 2000, the Tashkent region court sentenced him to 13 years in prison.

Using various false pretexts, prison authorities have arbitrarily extended Tokhtakhodjaev’s sentence five times (in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, and 2013), adding more than 12 years to his original sentence and rendering him ineligible for release under amnesty.

Tokhtakhodjaev has served time in prisons in Navoi, Andijan, and Bukhara and has suffered numerous health ailments including a stroke in August 2018.

On March 7, 2022, Tokhtakhodjaev was released from prison under amnesty.