Umida Niyazova, an independent journalist in Uzbekistan and a human rights advocate, was sentenced May 1 to seven years in prison. At a trial that was closed to the press, Niyazova was found guilty of charges of smuggling subversive literature and distributing foreign aid material that threatens national security. Niyazova, who has already spent more than three months in jail, will have 10 days to appeal the charges. Read the CPJ alert.