The Uchtepa district court has started hearing the criminal case against Azon Global founder Alisher Tursunov (Mubashshir Ahmad), Kursiv reported. The session is held openly and is chaired by Judge Bobir Rahimov. The press service of the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan announced this.
According to the indictment, he is accused of inciting national, racial, ethnic, or religious hatred. He is also charged with preparing and distributing materials threatening public safety through the media. Additionally, an article related to the illegal circulation of religious materials has been applied.
Penalties under these articles range from fines and corrective labor to imprisonment from 3 to 8 years. Pretrial detention has been chosen as a preventive measure. Statements from the parties are being heard and evidence is being examined at the court session.
Alisher Tursunov was born in 1974 in Namangan. He graduated from the Tashkent Islamic Institute and al-Azhar University in Cairo, and studied under Sheikh Muhammad Sodiq Muhammad Yusuf. In 2017, he founded “Azon New Media” (website, radio, online TV).
In August 2023, he announced the closure of the project, and later the “Azon Global” portal operating in four languages was launched. At the end of 2023, he was detained in Turkey and placed in a deportation center, released in February 2024. In May 2025, he was detained again and deported to Uzbekistan, initially charged under Article 244−2 of the Criminal Code.
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