The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan has put the religious blogger Alisher Tursunov (aka Mubashir Akhmad) on the Wanted list on Wednesday.
As per the spokesman to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Shokhrukh Giyasov, a criminal case has been opened against Alisher Akhmadovich Tursunov under the Creation, leading, participation in religious extremist, separatist, fundamentalist or other prohibited organizations charge of the Criminal Code (punishable by imprisonment from 5 to 15 years).
in August 2023, Mubashshir Akhmad announced the closure of all projects of the Azon New Media group(including the Azon.uz website, Azon FM online radio, Azon TV online television). In November 2023, the Azon Global portal was launched with service in four languages: Uzbek, Russian, English and Turkish languages).
On December 28 of the same year, Turkish law enforcement agencies arrested Mubashshir Akhmad. The Consulate General of Uzbekistan in Istanbul reported that the police took him from his home and placed him in a deportation center. "The Embassy and Consulate General of Uzbekistan in Turkey provide appropriate consular and legal assistance to our fellow countryman," the statement said. On February 21, he was released from the deportation center.
