[JURIST] An appeals court in Uzbekistan [JURIST news archive] on Tuesday upheld an eight-year prison term for human rights activist Mutabar Tojiboyeva [RFE/RL report], even though prosecutors had recommended a more lenient sentence. Tojiboyeva, a prominent critic of Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov [official profile; HRW profile] and head of the group Ardent Hearts, was detained in October as she prepared to leave for an international rights conference. Convicted of threatening public order and a dozen other charges, she was sentenced in March. Her arrest followed bloodshed in the eastern city of Andijan, where Uzbek security forces gunned down hundreds of demonstrators [BBC report; JURIST news archive].

Tojiboyeva is among a number of opposition figures who have faced charges [JURIST report] since the Andijan uprising [HRW backgrounder], though until Tuesday's decisions, courts have tended toward leniency against the opposition in recent weeks. Another received a reduced sentence earlier this month. IRIN News has more.