Uzbekistan: Following the deadly unrest in the autonomous region, an ethnic Karakalpak journalist has been charged with conspiracy to overthrow constitutional order.
Uzbekistan's state prosecutor announced on Friday that a journalist had been charged with conspiracy to overthrow constitutional order, following unrest over proposals to weaken the status of an autonomous region.
Following the bloodshed in the Karakalpakstan region, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev backed down from proposed constitutional amendments that would have denied the region the right to hold a referendum on secession from Uzbekistan. 
Mirziyoyev claims the unrest was planned years in advance with the assistance of "outside forces," but critics point to his government's failure to consult the region's public on the changes as the catalyst. 
The arrest last week of an ethnic Karakalpak journalist, Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov, was seen as contributing to a massive pro-autonomy protest in the region's administrative capital, Nukus, on July 1.
A 20-year prison sentence is on the table.
Authorities released him to appease demonstrators, but he was later arrested again. On Friday, the state prosecutor said he was one of two people detained on the charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Tazhimuratov was the editor of a regional newspaper and had called for protests in Karakalpakstan prior to his arrest, according to Uzbek private media.
According to a statement from the state prosecutor, another detained journalist, Lalagul Kallykhanova, was suspected of "crimes against public safety" after creating and publishing a video advocating seceding.
In cases involving the unrest, the office stated that it had prioritised "the prevention of torture, violence, and other cruel or degrading actions."
Separately, Mirziyoyev's office announced on Friday the dismissal of Zaynilobiddin Nizomiddinov as chief of staff, the first high-level dismissal since the crisis began in Karakalpakstan, where a state of emergency has been declared.

According to the National Guard, over 500 people were arrested during the unrest, with some of them later released.
Karakalpakstan, a two-million-person region, gets its name from the minority Karakalpak people, who, like Uzbeks, are a majority-Muslim Turkic Turkic group.

The Karakalpak language is more similar to Kazakh, which is spoken in neighbouring Kazakhstan, than it is to Uzbek, which is spoken throughout Uzbekistan, a Central Asian country of about 35 million people.