Three bloggers in Uzbekistan have been arrested for allegedly posting Facebook messages on religious issues. Musannif Adham, Ziyovuddin Rahim and Otabek Usmanov were taken to the police offices during the last days of August and with searches conducted in their houses.
Eight, presumably, state security officers visited the house of Tashkent-based blogger Adham Olimov, also known as Musannif Adham, in Olmazor district on August 28 at 18:00. According to Alimov's relatives, there were no local police officer among them.
The visitors neither mentioned name, nor presented IDs, said one of the witnesses.
The blogger's house was searched, and his computer, mobile phone, flash drive and hard disk were seized.
He was taken to the Olmazor district police station for questioning.
On lawyer's counsel, his family members appealed to the Tashkent City Prosecutor's Office on August 30. A prosecutor at the Olmazor District Prosecutor Office said that Adham was taken to the administrative penitentiary, commonly known as Panelniy, and that he had been sentenced to 15-day administrative arrest, but no verdict was handed to them.
On August 28, the administrative penitentiary officials told that Adham Olimov was taken elsewhere on 29 August.
Other bloggers Ziyavuddin Rahim from Tashkent and Otabek Usmanov from Andijan were also arrested for unknown reasons. There is no information on their whereabouts and how they are kept.
All three detainees are well-known for writing articles on religious and educational topics in social networks, particularly for their criticisms of alleged violations of religious freedom in Uzbekistan, in particular they expressed concern against the government' decision to ban hijab in schools.
