TASHKENT -- Uzbekistani authorities Tuesday (October 3) released human rights activist Agzam Farmonov after 11 years in prison, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported that day.
Farmonov was held in Jaslyq prison in the north after his 2006 conviction on extortion charges, which observers denounced as political. His sentence was originally nine and a half years, but authorities added five years to his sentence, citing alleged refusal to obey prison guards' orders, according to RFE/RL and Fergana News.
"The United States acknowledges President Mirzoyoyev's commitment to strengthening human rights protections in Uzbekistan," the US embassy in Tashkent said in a statement.