Anti-Corruption Blogger Otabek Sattoriy Muzzled After Prison—RSF Raises Alarm

October 01, 2024 – Uzbekistan –

Otabek Sattoriy, a prominent independent anti-corruption blogger in Uzbekistan, remains eerily silent and unreachable eight months after his judicial “release,” Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reports. Despite a February 5, 2024, court decision commuting his original sentence to “correctional work” and a fine equivalent to 20% of his income, Sattoriy has neither appeared publicly nor maintained any contact with media, family, or civil society. He also hasn’t posted on social media, contradicting the court’s mandate that he be permitted to do so. 

Sattoriy’s troubles began with his coverage of corruption tied to a senior official in the Surxondaryo region. Arrested on January 30, 2021, on fabricated charges of extortion and slander, he was sentenced to six and a half years in prison after reporting on illegal land seizures involving a politically connected businessman. His trial was held behind closed doors, and he was refused a lawyer of his choice, prompting international condemnation from CPJ and HRW as a “clear attempt to frighten the press.”

During his imprisonment, Sattoriy endured harsh conditions: denial of family visits, lack of food, inadequate medical care, and health issues including asthma, kidney infections, and high fevers. Civil society groups describe his treatment as a pattern of punitive repression against independent voices.

Shortly before his scheduled release in February, Sattoriy publicly praised President Mirziyoyev as “a leader with great potential.” But since then, he has all but disappeared. Observers suggest he is effectively under a de facto house arrest, silenced to prevent renewed criticism ahead of Uzbekistan’s October 2024 legislative vote. Only one deputy, former journalist Rasul Kusherbaev (now resigned), has advocated on his behalf. 

RSF warns that this disappearing act exemplifies broader media suppression: bloggers are being “silenced” through controlled releases, surveillance, and informal gag orders. With only limited legislative reforms since 2016 and rising self-censorship, Uzbekistan now ranks a dismal 148th out of 180 in RSF’s 2024 Press Freedom Index.

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