Congressional record
A Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission briefing on political imprisonment across the five Central Asian republics.
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https://humanrightscommission.house.gov/events/hearings/central-asia-political-prisoners-and-ongoing-human-rights-abusesThe Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission convened a briefing on political imprisonment and the wider human rights situation in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan — the five governments the United States engages through the annual C5+1 diplomatic summit, whose most recent meeting produced agreements on critical minerals, connectivity, and trade.
Panelists addressed the gap between that economic engagement and the documented record: politically motivated imprisonment rising across the region, and a broadening crackdown on civil society organizations, opposition politics, and the independent press. Specific matters raised included the sentencing of individuals associated with the Atajurt movement in Kazakhstan — an advocacy group working with families of people missing in Xinjiang, and a case that turns on questions of PRC influence and transnational repression; the unresolved accountability for the 2022 killings in Nukus, Karakalpakstan; and democratic backsliding in Kyrgyzstan, including the closure of major media outlets.
The briefing also covered transnational repression, enforced disappearances, and restrictions on speech and religion in Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, and closed on recommendations for U.S. policy — how to support civil society and secure the release of imprisoned human rights defenders, journalists, and opposition activists.
17 documented cases from our database covering the countries on this agenda. Each links to the full record — charges, statute, sentence, and sources.
A world-renowned ultramarathoner and chairman of the unregistered Alga Kazakhstan party, he was accused of financing extremism for transferring money to an activist. He went on a hunger strike in protest of his unfair trial.
Author of the satirical Instagram blog QazNews24. He was detained for publishing satirical news regarding the leadership of Kazakhstan and national events.
Aygerim Tleuzhanova is a journalist, civic activist, and professional translator. She was among the protesters in January 2022 and was subsequently sentenced to four years of imprisonment for her alleged involvement in the seizure of the Almaty airport.
Former Orthodox priest Iakov Vorontsov is facing criminal charges and a court order for mandatory psychiatric evaluation in Kazakhstan. He claims the charges are a crackdown on his attempt to establish an independent Orthodox church.
Buzurgmehr Yorov is a Tajik human rights lawyer and member of the opposition Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan. He represented IRPT members and publicly revealed their torture in pre-trial detention. Yorov was charged with fraud and 'Public invitation to change the constitutional system by violence' (article 307). His case was classified as 'top secret' in 2015. After various sentence reductions via amnesties, a new criminal case for large-scale fraud was opened against him in April 2023.
Prominent journalist and woman human rights defender in the Gorno-Badakhshan region. She is a representative of the indigenous Pamiri minority group and an independent journalist – working with “Asia Plus”, “Argumenti Nedeli”, and has collaborated with “Ferghana”. In recent years, Ulfatkhonim Mamadshoeva founded the NGO, “Nomus va Insof”, where she had focused on children’s rights, upbringing and education, and women’s rights.
Manuchehr Kholiknazarov was detained and interrogated regarding alleged illegal funding from a banned political alliance. He is currently charged with participation in a criminal association and held in a state security detention centre.
Rukhshona Khakimova was initially detained without a warrant by police officers outside her home in Dushanbe on July 16, 2024. She was later formally arrested and taken into custody after her verdict on February 5, 2025. Her charges allegedly stemmed from interviews she conducted for a research project on international aid from China to Tajikistan, where she reportedly spoke with two defendants, asking general questions not related to classified information.
Mahmadali Hayit is the Deputy head of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT). A member of the party since 1992 and a member of its Supreme Council since 1999, he served as deputy chairman from 2007 until his arrest in September 2015. He was accused of plotting a coup and collaborating with General Nazarzoda, despite a lack of evidence. Following a closed trial, he was found guilty of numerous charges including terrorism, armed rebellion, and murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in a maximum security correctional facility.
Khikmatullo Saifullozoda has been an IRPT member since the early 1990s. He participated in the first round of inter-Tajik peace talks in Afghanistan, which formed the basis for the General Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and National Accord in Tajikistan. From 1997 to 2000, Saifullozoda headed the IRPT Press Center. He served on the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda from 1999 to 2004. In the early 2000s, he became Chief of Staff and spokesperson of the IRPT. Since 2010, he has been Editor-in-Chief of the party newspaper Najot. He was also a member of the IRPT Supreme Political Council and its Presidium. On September 16, 2015, Saifullozoda was arrested by SCNS officers. He was accused of involvement in the events of the mutiny allegedly organized by General Nazarzoda on September 4, 2015. On June 2, 2016, he was found guilty and sentenced to 16 years of imprisonment in a strict regime penal colony.
Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov is a Karakalpak lawyer, journalist, and human rights activist sentenced to 16 years in a high-security prison colony for allegedly organizing the July 2022 Nukus protests against constitutional amendments that sought to strip Karakalpakstan of its sovereignty. He was detained before the protests, reportedly beaten, and later rearrested as unrest spread. His trial was held in Bukhara, far from Karakalpakstan, and international human rights groups have condemned the proceedings as politically motivated. He is currently held in High-Security Prison Penal Colony No. 11 in Navoi Region, Uzbekistan, where he faces harsh and degrading conditions, including psychological torture, solitary confinement, and attacks by cellmates.
Valijon Kalonov is a blogger and social media activist; commentator on politics, human rights, and government policy. He was arrested on 15 August 2021 at his home in Jizzakh region during preparations for the October 2021 presidential election. As of late 2025 / early 2026, he remains detained indefinitely in a psychiatric institution under compulsory psychiatric treatment following a court ruling. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in February 2025 found his ongoing detention arbitrary under international law and recommended his immediate release.
Dildora Khakimova is a teacher, blogger, and civil-society activist who publicly criticized corruption in the education system and provided support to community members. She was arrested in February 2024 and convicted in July 2024 on charges of extortion, which rights groups describe as baseless retaliation for her activism. Khakimova gave birth to a child in mid-September 2024 while in detention. Human rights organizations have raised serious concerns regarding the inadequate conditions for the newborn within the detention facility. Furthermore, she suffers from breast cancer that reportedly requires urgent specialized treatment which has not been adequately provided.
Nozimjon Abdullayev, a former government official and former head of State Inspection under the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was convicted of treason and violation of privacy in a closed-door trial. Abdullayev denies all charges, asserting that the prosecution's claims are linked to an article published by the independent media outlet "ElTuz" regarding corruption. During pre-trial detention, Abdullayev reported being subjected to torture by security officers and threats from other inmates to coerce false testimony. His health is in critical condition due to type 2 diabetes, which has been exacerbated by the withholding of medication and physical abuse, including burns and beatings.
Shahida Salomova is a human rights defender, lawyer, and blogger known for providing free legal guidance to victims of forced evictions and urban planning abuses. She also administered popular online channels on Telegram and YouTube focused on rights issues in Uzbekistan. She was arrested in December 2022 after publishing social-media posts critical of government officials and alleging corruption involving the president and his family. Her case is characterized by human rights monitors as punitive psychiatric confinement rather than standard criminal prosecution. As of 2025, she remains held in a closed psychiatric hospital in Tashkent with restricted access to family and legal counsel.
Abdukodir Muminov is a blogger and investigative journalist; founder and host of the popular YouTube channel Ko‘zgu (“Mirror”), where he posted critical content about social issues and powerful individuals in Uzbekistan. He was detained on 8 February 2023 by law-enforcement authorities in Tashkent on suspicion of extortion and fraud. Muminov’s trial took place before the Mirabad District Criminal Court in Tashkent in mid-2023. Prosecutors asked for an 11-year sentence, but the court convicted him and sentenced him to 7 years and 3 months’ imprisonment. Human-rights monitors describe these charges as widely disproportionate given the evidence publicly known and linked to his online criticism of authorities.
Tulkun Astanov is a Muslim activist and religious-freedom advocate known for peaceful advocacy on behalf of religious freedom and the rights of Muslims in Uzbekistan, including public protest and online criticism of restrictions on religious practice. Astanov was arrested on 22 November 2020 after protesting outside the presidential residence in Tashkent. In May 2025, as his original sentence was nearing completion, authorities initiated a new case against him, extending his imprisonment with an additional three years and two months sentence for allegedly disobeying prison regulations.
