For example, customer service centers have begun deploying conversational AI agents capable of resolving complex inquiries without any human intervention. AI is not merely a background support system anymore — it is becoming the face of many services. Large corporations like IBM and BT have announced the elimination of thousands of white-collar r

“Astanov indeed has ailments and is physically weak and unfit for sports exercises,” the state-appointed defence lawyer in the case, Husnora Jumayeva, told Forum 18 on 23 June. “We showed the Court that he had written a request to the Chief of Prison No. 1 to free him from the exercises, which was received by him, and Astanov has a document c

On 5 May, Judge Kosym Kholov, Chair of Kogon District Court in Bukhara Region, found prisoner of conscience Tulkun Astanov guilty under Criminal Code Article 221, Part 2, clause b (“Disobeying the lawful requirements of the administration of a penal institution”). The Judge handed down a sentence of 3 years and two months’ imprisonment in a s

On 27 November 2020, Tashkent’s Uchteppa District Criminal Court jailed prisoner of conscience Tulkun Tashmuradovich Astanov (born 25 April 1971) for five years for defending Muslims’ freedom of religion and belief. In 2021, officials of Bukhara Region Prison No. 1 repeatedly tortured Astanov, in June for praying the namaz (Muslim daily prayer)

Both Astanov and his state-appointed lawyer Husnora Jumayeva independently filed appeals to Bukhara Regional Court, which began hearings on 5 June (see below). Kogon District Deputy Prosecutor Mukhamadali Kenjayev – who led the prosecution case at the trial – adamantly defended the Court decision. Astanov “violated the prison rules several ti