The Yunusabad Criminal Court has turned into a conveyor belt for judicial and police arbitrariness. The second hearing in the case of the massive “Glamour Gold” construction scam, which officials cynically call open, has in fact become a closed special operation by the security forces against their own people.

By 10 am, the atmosphere outside the courthouse was already boiling over: dozens of defrauded investors had gathered, demanding the lawful return of their money. But the authorities, panicking at the sight of any gathering of discontented people, responded with a despicable provocation. Under absurd pretexts, only 10 people were allowed into the courtroom. The rest of the victims, whose families were left without homes or money, were rudely thrown out.

No sooner had the robbed people protested than a force unit was instantly deployed against them. National Guard troops were rushed to the courthouse – to intimidate, exert psychological pressure and crush the will of the citizens. Instead of putting the fraudsters on trial, the regime deployed brute force against the people who had been cheated, clearly demonstrating that the authorities protect thieves, not the law.

According to preliminary estimates, around 300 people have fallen victim to the “Glamour Gold” scam. Three hundred families have lost their life savings and been left homeless simply because these construction fraudsters operated for years under the direct protection of a corrupt system and corrupt officials.

Meanwhile, this morning the website of the “Erkin Oʻzbekiston” movement (erkinuz.org), which has been monitoring this process since January, came under a massive brute-force attack. The regime has resorted to an organised IT sabotage operation with a single aim: to bring down the independent website, hide the truth from the public and silence those who expose their dirty schemes. The website remained blocked for several hours.

Corrupt officials and their high-ranking patrons in uniform are terrified of publicity. They know that the truth is their death sentence.

The next show trial is scheduled for 9 am on 2 June. This will not be merely a court hearing, but another round of open confrontation between civil society and a rotten, corrupt system.

The “Erkin Oʻzbekiston” movement will continue to publish its investigations. The regime may try to hack our websites and purge social media, but it cannot block the truth. We are documenting every move the regime makes and have long been influencing its policies.