Valijon Kalonov
Valijon Kalonov, a 55-year-old blogger and activist from Jizzakh, Uzbekistan, has been held in forced psychiatric detention since December 2021. His detention followed his criticism of government policies, including calling for a boycott of the presidential elections and speaking out against discrimination against Uyghurs. In August 2021, authorities arrested him on charges of 'threatening public safety' and 'insulting the president online,' alleging his social media posts contained religious fundamentalism and slander. In December 2021, a court ruled that Kalonov could not be held criminally liable due to a state-commissioned psychiatric assessment claiming he suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder and impaired logical thinking. Consequently, he was placed in a psychiatric hospital in the Jizzakh region for compulsory treatment. On February 28, 2025, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) issued an opinion stating his detention is arbitrary and violates international human rights law, urging the Uzbek government to release him immediately and provide reparations.