Click to expand Image Javokhir Muminov (left) and Djura Akbarov (right) at the Kashkadarya Regional Prosecutor's Office, Uzbekistan. © 2025 Elena Urlaeva (Berlin, June 18, 2026) – Uzbek authorities should release a local human rights activist accused of extortion and investigate his allegations of abuse in police custody, Human Rights Watch said today. Javokhir Muminov, the activist, told his lawyer on June 10, 2026, that following his arrest, police officers had beaten and suffocated him.“This criminal investigation into Javokhir Muminov, coupled with his allegations of abuse, is reminiscent of a much darker time in Uzbekistan’s history,” said Mihra Rittmann, senior Central Asia adviser at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities should immediately release Muminov, investigate his allegations of ill-treatment, and ensure that he is provided urgent and adequate medical care.”The case against Muminov is tainted by allegations of ill-treatment or abuse made by both Muminov and his lawyer. The allegations require immediate attention by law enforcement bodies in Uzbekistan, consistent with the country’s international human rights obligations, Human Rights Watch said.Muminov, 34, is a member of the Ezgulik Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan, one of the oldest registered human rights groups in the country. He has published information about rights violations and other developments in Uzbekistan on his Telegram channel, including about alleged corruption and police abuse in his home region of Kashkadarya in southwestern Uzbekistan. He has also been involved in protecting the rights of Kashkadarya region farmers.The criminal investigation and activist’s arrest follow Muminov’s efforts over the last year and a half to help Diura Akbarov, a local resident, defend his rights against two bailiffs, the chairperson of the Ezgulik human rights organization, Abdurakhman Tashanov, reported. In January 2025, the bailiffs apparently broke Akbarov’s arm and caused him other injuries while confronting him about outstanding alimony payments.On June 5, police in the southwestern city of Karshi arrested Muminov, Akbarov, and his wife, Sanobar Borotova, on suspicion of committing “extortion on an especially large scale”, an offence that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years. The arrests followed a complaint, dated the same day, by two bailiffs from the Bureau of Compulsory Enforcement, who accused the three of trying to extort 220 million Uzbek soum (approximately US$18,000) from them. One of the bailiffs had transferred 50 million Uzbek soum (approximately US$4,100) to Akbarov’s wife that day, which the bailiff paid to cover medical expenses associated with injuries Akbarov sustained in 2025, his lawyer told Human Rights Watch. In January 2025, after the bailiffs apparently broke Akbarov’s arm and caused him other injuries, Akbarov filed a complaint against them. The Prosecutor’s Office brought criminal charges of “intentional infliction of moderate bodily injury”, but against only the more junior official. Then in a January 15, 2026, Telegram video addressed to Uzbekistan’s president, Akbarov said that the police were shielding the more senior bailiff from accountability. On May 8, a Koson district court convicted the junior bailiff of intentionally causing bodily harm and sentenced him to two years of restricted freedom.Any effective investigation into the case against Muminov, Akbarov, and Borotova should give serious consideration about whether the convicted bailiff falsely accused the three of extortion to get revenge, Human Rights Watch said. The organization also said that to deprive all three of their liberty during the course of an investigation into such dubious allegations, for up to two months and possibly longer, is unjustified under human rights norms. Uzbekistan is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights must ensure that no one, as a general rule, is detained in custody awaiting trial, and in a case such as this one, including an absence of charges, questionable allegations, and a non-violent offence, pretrial detention constitutes arbitrary detention. On June 10, Muminov’s lawyers tried to meet with him at the pretrial detention center in Karshi. When officers demanded that the two lawyers leave their mobile phones in their office, one of Muminov’s lawyers, Lazizjon Sharipov, declined, saying that their demand was illegal.At that point, he said, an officer began insulting him and another then forcefully grabbed his left arm, twisting it behind his back as he pushed him down the corridor, bruising him. Sharipov told Human Rights Watch that he left the facility before he could meet with his client to file a complaint at the Karshi city Prosecutor’s Office.Sharipov’s colleague met with Muminov, who told the lawyer that police officers had suffocated him with a plastic bag and beaten him to try to coerce a confession. After the meeting, Muminov’s lawyer filed a second complaint at the Karshi city Prosecutor’s Office about Muminov’s allegations of ill-treatment and injuries, Sharipov confirmed.Although Sharipov asked officials to provide Muminov with a forensic medical examination, he is not aware of any steps taken by the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate Muminov’s complaint or ensure his security in detention, Sharipov told Human Rights Wach.Uzbekistan’s international partners, including the European Union and the United Kingdom, should call on Uzbekistan officials to release Muminov and any other activists whose detention is unlawful and arbitrary under international standards. “The accused should be released and Muminov free to continue his human rights work without fear of retaliatory arrest or ill-treatment,” Rittmann said. “Uzbek authorities should also promptly investigate Muminov’s allegations of ill-treatment with a view to holding the perpetrators responsible, and guarantee his safety should he remain in detention for any period.”