Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The State Security Service of Uzbekistan has reported the discovery of illegal religious instruction and the unlawful distribution of religious literature in Tashkent and Ferghana.

In the “Jiydali” mahalla of the Almazar district in the capital, a resident of the Dehkanabad district of Kashkadarya region, born in 1993 and temporarily living in a rented house, had been teaching 15 young people unauthorized religious knowledge since May 2025. He charged $150 per student for the lessons. Among his pupils, who had come from various regions of the country and were born between 2004 and 2014, 11 were underage. It was also revealed that one of the minors had not attended school for the past three years.

A similar case was identified in the same district, where a resident of Tashkent’s Mirzo-Ulugbek district, born in 1977, had been teaching 10 minors illegal religious subjects since June of this year, demanding $100 per student as well as food products. To conceal his activities from law enforcement inspections, he had equipped a basement in his house, camouflaged with a metal hatch and covered with stones and sand, where the children were kept. These actions posed a serious threat to their lives and health, raising questions as to whether the parents were aware of the conditions in which their children were being held.

Field court hearings were held in the mahalla for both cases, during which the individuals involved were held accountable under Article 241 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility.

Investigations also established that the instruction involved religious books and manuscripts printed unofficially, without the required holographic markings. Questions remain as to where such materials are being produced.

In Ferghana region, authorities uncovered a case of illegal production of religious literature. A resident of the Buvayda district, born in 1991, had organized an underground printing press in his home and in a café he owned. He was printing religious books that he supplied to bookstores in Tashkent, as well as in the Tashkent and Samarkand regions. During a search, 1,210 finished books, around 2,000 items of printed material in the final stages of production, and six printing presses were seized. It was established that this individual had already been fined in July 2024 for a similar violation, yet he continued his illegal activities. A criminal case has been opened against him, and an investigation is underway.

It should be recalled that in Uzbekistan, the preparation, import, and distribution of religious materials are permitted only with a positive conclusion from a religious studies examination. This requirement aims to prevent the dissemination of ideas that could undermine interfaith harmony, religious tolerance, or promote violence and disorder. The procedure for the preparation, import, and distribution of religious literature is regulated by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.