The Beeb's Natalia Antelava on the quest of Alisher Saipov to provide actual journalism to the people of Uzbekistan -- something that probably got him killed.
Methodical, passionate and thorough, he dug deeper than anyone else into the reality of President Islam Karimov's Uzbekistan.
He wrote endlessly about torture in Uzbek prisons, about the total clampdown on dissent, about the economic collapse of what was once the region's richest nation, and about the rise of Islamic radicalism, driven - he always said - by the government's persecution of Muslims in Uzbekistan.
With his sound recorder, a camera strapped around his shoulder, and a cheeky smile stretched across his face, he was constantly on the move - investigating, writing, planning and dreaming. ...
Just over two weeks ago, thrilled and overflowing with pride, he showed me his new project: an Uzbek-language newspaper.
Published in Kyrgyzstan and smuggled across the border by traders and merchants, it was the only Uzbek-language publication that challenged the authorities.
The paper was becoming increasingly popular ahead of the December presidential election, in which Mr Karimov is seeking re-election.
And, with its popularity, Alisher's name too was gaining prominence.
He was beginning to feature heavily on Uzbek state-controlled television, portrayed as a terrorist, a dangerous man with a hidden agenda of overthrowing the Uzbek state.
The last time I saw him he told me that there were even rumours that the Uzbek government had put a price on his head.
On Oct. 24, someone pumped three bullets into Saipov's head and chest. Saipov's daughter is only three months old. She'll never know her father.