On January 31, all 22 defendants were found guilty at the end of trials connected to the violence that left at least 21 people dead in Uzbekistan’s western region of Karakalpakstan. One of the defendants died in custody four days later.

Uzbek authorities have been trying to demonstrate a new openness in judicial proceedings, including livestreaming some of the court sessions. But most of the testimony, the confessions, and the verdicts looked to some people like the managed trials of Uzbek authorities 15 or 20 years ago.

Joining host Bruce Pannier to discuss the Karakalpak trials are Alisher Ilkhamov, director of Central Asia Due Diligence, and Steve Swerdlow, a rights lawyer who has spent many years focusing on Central Asia and who is currently teaching at the University of Southern California.