Surkhandarya blogger Otabek Sattoriy, sentenced to 6.5 years in prison on charges of libel and extortion in 2021, may be released at the end of April or early May. The press service of the Ezgulik human rights society reported this on Facebook with reference to its leader Abdurakhmon Tashanov, who met with Sattoriy on January 13 in a prison colony in Karshi.
“The meeting with blogger Otabek Sattoriy in the colony prison went very well. Otabek thanked everyone who supported him. According to the chief of the colony, he will be released at the end of April - beginning of May. He is now working in a sewing shop,” Tashanov said.
He noted that Sattoriy along with all convicts, enjoy their rights provided for in the colony-settlement.
“Family members and relatives have been visiting him. Representatives of the Ombudsman are here almost every day. Counting the days until his release. He said: “I don’t want my photo from prison to be published on the Internet.” Therefore, the colony took a photograph of me with him only for official use,” the human rights activist noted.
The blogger said that he does not intend to appeal the court verdict against him again. “He wants to work quietly in the information technology field. He considers the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev a leader with high potential and will be proud to serve him,” the statement said.
Abdurakhmon Tashanov, on the contrary, urged him to try to justify himself after the end of his sentence, the society noted.
In December Sattoriy was transferred from a general regime colony to a settlement colony. According to the law, convicts who have served at least one third of their sentence and have embarked on the path of correction could be transferred to prison colony.
It is worth noting that for persons sentenced to imprisonment, house arrest or correctional labor, the unserved part of the sentence may be replaced by the court with a more lenient punishment after serving part of the sentence. The punishment may be replaced by a house arrest or correctional labor, and after serving at least two-thirds of the sentence, parole may be applied.
