Salijon Abdurahmanov

Salijon Abdurahmanov (Uzbek: Solijon Abdurahmonov; born 28 May 1950 in Nukus, Uzbekistan) is an Uzbek journalist who contributed to Radio Free Europe, Voice of America and uznews.net. In October 2008, he was given a ten-year prison sentence for marijuana and opium possession. He asserted his innocence of the charges, stating that the drugs were planted by police officers. Several international human rights NGOs called for his release, including Amnesty International, which designated him a prisoner of conscience. In 2014 he was awarded the Johann Philipp Palm prize for freedom of expression and the press. He was freed from detention in October 2017.