[3] Uznews.net reporter Salijon Abdurahmanov was arrested during a traffic stop on 7 June 2008, who searched his car and stated that they found 114 grams (4.0 oz) of marijuana and 5 grams (0.18 oz) of opium in his trunk.
[4][5] Abdurahmanov stated that the drugs had been planted in retaliation for an uznews.net story he had recently published about alleged corruption of traffic police.
[5] The conviction drew protests from a number of Western-based human rights organizations, including Amnesty International (which named him a prisoner of conscience),[6] Human Rights Watch,[7] the Committee to Protect Journalists,[8] the International Federation for Human Rights,[9] and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
[10] As of December 20, 2014, the news site is shut down and all links redirect to the following message in Uzbek, Russian, and English: Uznews.net has ceased to exist.
Uznews.net Team (January 2005 - December 2014)A tribute article by Reporters Without Borders stated that the email of editor-in-chief Galima Bukharbayeva was hacked and confidential information identifying independent journalists who contributed to UzNews.net was leaked to the public.