Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan has placed prominent religious blogger and founder of Azon Global, Alisher Tursunov, known by the pseudonym Mubashshir Ahmad, on a wanted list.

According to the ministry’s spokesperson, Shohruh Giyasov, a criminal case has been opened against Tursunov under Part 1, Article 244-2 of the Criminal Code, which prescribes punishment for creating, leading, or participating in religious extremist, separatist, fundamentalist, or other prohibited organizations. The penalty under this article ranges from 5 to 15 years of imprisonment.

It is worth noting that in August 2023, Mubashshir Ahmad announced the closure of all projects of the Azon New Media group, which he had founded in 2017. The group included the Azon.uz website, online radio Azon FM, and online television channel Azon TV.

In November 2023, he launched a new platform, Azon Global, which operates in four languages: Uzbek, Russian, English, and Turkish.

On 28 December 2023, Turkish law enforcement authorities detained Mubashshir Ahmad. The Consulate General of Uzbekistan in Istanbul reported that police took him from his home and placed him in a deportation center.

An official statement from the consulate emphasized that consular and legal assistance was being provided to the detainee. On 21 February 2024, Mubashshir Ahmad was released from the deportation center.