According to Forum18 report, Sunnatillo Akparov was convicted by Samarkand District Criminal Court on October 7. The Samarkand Regional Criminal Court upheld his sentence on November 3, rejecting his appeal.

The case originated from a Telegram channel run by Akparov, which had 94 Uzbek Shia Muslim members. Police in Samarkand began monitoring the channel in February 2024 and, after more than two years of surveillance, decided in May 2026 to pursue criminal proceedings against its administrator.

On May 6, police requested an expert assessment from Uzbekistan's Religious Affairs Committee concerning the Shia lamentations shared on the channel. The committee concluded that the material encouraged the activities and teachings of various ideological movements, without specifying which movements it was referring to.

Authorities subsequently charged Akparov under Article 244-1 of Uzbekistan's Criminal Code, which criminalizes the production, storage, distribution or display of materials deemed to threaten public security and public order through mass media, telecommunications networks or the internet. When committed by a group, the offense carries a prison sentence of five to eight years.

Akparov was arrested on June 23 and held at an investigation prison in Samarkand Region. His trial began on August 25 under Judge Laziz Azizov. According to an individual familiar with the proceedings, the judge pressured Akparov to admit that two songs found on his phone were extremist Wahhabi material.

In September, Judge Azizov claimed that Akparov had listened to "extremist songs" and that imprisonment was the appropriate punishment. However, he declined to explain why listening to such material constituted a serious criminal offense.

Following the appeal ruling, Akparov was apparently transferred from the investigation prison where he had been held since his arrest. His family and acquaintances have not been informed of his current location. Officials at the Interior Ministry's Department of Execution of Punishments refused to provide information about his whereabouts.

The report also highlights the cases of two other Muslim prisoners, Fariduddin Abduvokhidov and Tulkun Astanov, who have faced lengthy prison sentences and alleged mistreatment.

Abduvokhidov, 32, was initially sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2020 for meeting with other people in Tashkent to discuss Islam. In December 2023, another 10-year sentence was imposed on him, reportedly over arriving three minutes late for a prison roll call. In March 2025, he received an additional 10-year sentence. He is currently held in a strict-regime prison in Bukhara Region and is expected to remain imprisoned until November 2034.

According to his father, Bakhodyr Muratov, prison officials placed Abduvokhidov in a cell with another prisoner described as behaving violently during the summer of 2026. The two were involved in a physical confrontation before Abduvokhidov was returned to his original cell. After his mother complained to prison authorities about the incident, he was reportedly placed in temporary solitary confinement as punishment for raising the issue.

Muratov said that his son appeared physically healthy during a recent visit but was afraid to complain about prison conditions for fear of further punishment. He also expressed concern that he might die before seeing his son regain his freedom.

Astanov, 55, was initially sentenced to five years in November 2020 for defending the rights of other Muslims. As his sentence was nearing completion, authorities brought a new case against him, accusing him of disobeying orders by refusing to participate in morning exercises. In May 2025, he received an additional three years and two months in a strict-regime labour camp.

His family said that Astanov has repeatedly been tortured for performing Islamic prayers and suffered his third stroke while in prison.

Beyond individual cases, Forum 18 describes a broader system of restrictions on religious freedom in Uzbekistan. Religious communities must obtain state registration to operate legally, while Muslim groups are effectively required to function under the state-controlled Sunni Muslim Muftiate.

Authorities have continued to reject registration applications from Shia Muslim communities and other groups seeking to operate independently of the official religious establishment. Similar restrictions have affected Protestant and Jehovah's Witness communities.

The report also highlights obstacles to reopening Shia mosques in Bukhara and restrictions on religious content on social media. Officials previously warned Shia Muslims in Bukhara and Samarkand against publishing religious material online, prompting some to delete their accounts or remove religious content.

Taken together, these cases illustrate the restrictions facing religious communities operating outside Uzbekistan's state-controlled religious framework, as well as allegations of imprisonment and mistreatment of individuals for their religious activities.