The head of the information service at Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, Colonel Shohrukh Giyosov, has been relieved of his post by order of the interior minister, according to a report by Kun.uz citing a source. The reason for the dismissal and his next assignment have not been disclosed, and no additional official comment from the ministry was immediately available. Giyosov had held the position since October 2019, overseeing the ministry’s public communications and official responses to incidents and investigations.
Key Takeaways: Giyosov was dismissed as head of the Interior Ministry’s information service by ministerial order after serving in the role since October 2019. Neither the grounds for the decision nor a possible new appointment have been officially announced. His recent public criticism of media workers and bloggers, including his description of a Kun.uz investigation as “one-sided” and made “for hype”, has drawn particular attention.
The change comes amid wider discussion in Uzbekistan about relations between law-enforcement press services and the journalistic community. The Interior Ministry’s information service is a key channel for official updates on crime, emergencies, investigations and the ministry’s position on public issues. A leadership change at that unit can therefore affect how quickly and in what tone the ministry communicates with reporters and bloggers. Giyosov had recently become more active in publicly accusing some media employees and bloggers of bias, according to the report.
Earlier, Giyosov called a Kun.uz investigation “one-sided, done for hype and noise.” The outlet subsequently disclosed circumstances and correspondence from the preparation of that investigation. Separately, under a Senate Council decision dated October 15 this year, Giyosov was included in a working group tasked with improving Uzbekistan’s performance in the Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders, an international non-governmental organization known in Uzbek as “Chegara bilmas muxbirlar.” The detail illustrates how his role touched both departmental communications and broader media-freedom policy discussions.
No official statement from the Interior Ministry has yet clarified the reasons behind the dismissal or named a successor, leaving the information service’s next leadership uncertain. Observers will watch whether the change alters the ministry’s engagement with journalists and bloggers, and whether the working group on the Press Freedom Index continues with the same composition. Further personnel announcements and official clarifications are expected in the coming days. The Kun.uz report, based on a source, still requires official confirmation.
Source: kun.uz