TASHKENT. June 11 (Interfax) - Criminal charges have been dropped in Uzbekistan against journalists cooperating with Deutsche Welle radio, a source at the Tashkent city prosecutor's office told Interfax on Monday.
Nadezhda Bushuyeva, Yury Chernogayev, Saiera Ruzykulova and Obid Shabanov who had worked for Deutsche Welle without accreditation were charged with large-scale tax evasion and unlicensed business operations, the source said.
"The evidence collected by investigators proved that Chernogayev, Shabanova and Ruzykulova were guilty. The prosecutor's office gave them an official warning," the source said.
The defendants paid taxes together with penalties.
"Their combined charges entailed a prison term but considering that that the offenses were covered by the Senate amnesty declared on the 14th anniversary of the Uzbek constitution their criminal cases were closed," the source said.
Meanwhile, Bushuyeva was declared nationally wanted on the grounds of the findings of the investigation and her departure from Uzbekistan despite a written pledge not to leave the country.
