The appeal of the blogger and lawyer Daulet Tazhimuratov was rejected in the Tashkent courtroom on June 5 to review the 16-year prison sentence, the Human Rights Watch said.

Fourteen other defendants standing trial with Tazhimuratov for alleged crimes in connection with July 2022 protests in Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan’s autonomous region, had their sentences either reduced or converted to noncustodial “restricted freedom” terms. Eight of the defendants were released from the courtroom.

Human Rights Watch has not seen any comments by Tazhimuratov in the lead up to the Karakalpakstan events that would constitute speech that could justifiably be criminalized under international human rights law. Expressing a political opinion and calling for peaceful protests is protected speech.

The difference between the court’s handling of the other defendants, all of whom expressed remorse for their alleged actions, and Tazhimuratov, who maintained his innocence and mounted an active defense in court, was stark.

Reportedly, Tazhimuratov did not get a fair trial. His guilty verdict hinged on court-ordered “expert” conclusions and witness testimony, which his lawyer, Sergey Mayorov, effectively challenged during his appeal. Mayorov detailed in court how the state-ordered “expert” analyses were carried out in violation of Uzbek law and noted that specialists who do not know Karakalpak language conducted linguistic and psychological analyses of Tazhimuratov’s speech. Authorities also failed to effectively investigate Tazhimuratov’s claims of torture while in custody.

After the hearing, Mayorov described the court’s decision to uphold his client’s 16-year prison sentence as “an absolutely unfair, unlawful sentence.”

Tazhimurodov is due no less. His rights should be respected and upheld. He should be freed, the NGO concluded.