Tashkent Court Sentences TikToker to Three Years for Insulting Uzbekistan’s President

Uzbek blogger Valery Dyugai sentenced to three years for insulting President Mirziyoyev and inciting ethnic discord via TikTok.
Valery Dyugai. Still from a video released by the Tashkent Regional Police Department

The Criminal Court of Nurafshan, Tashkent Region, has sentenced 26-year-old blogger Valery Dyugai to three years and one month in prison for insulting President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan and inciting interethnic discord. The ruling was announced by Aziz Abidov, spokesperson for the country’s Supreme Court.

According to law enforcement, while in South Korea in 2024, Dyugai posted several videos on TikTok containing offensive remarks about Uzbek citizens. He was detained upon returning from Abu Dhabi to Samarkand and transferred to Tashkent.

Dyugai was convicted under Part 2 of Article 156 (“Incitement of national, racial, ethnic, or religious hatred”) and Part 3 of Article 158 (“Public insult of the president”) of Uzbekistan’s Criminal Code. He will serve his sentence in a penal settlement.