Photo: sud.uz
A 28-year-old native of Tashkent Region has been sentenced in Uzbekistan to four years of restricted freedom for serving in the Russian army, Kun.uz reports.
The man, born in 1997 in Kuyichirchik District, traveled to Russia in June 2024. He claimed that Armenian managers had invited him to Moscow to participate in a mixed martial arts fight, as he was a former professional MMA fighter. However, the fight was canceled, and his passport was confiscated. After seeing an advertisement for military contracts, he approached a Russian military enlistment office.
“I asked if I would be paid right away. They said yes. So I took my passport back from the Armenians, repaid my debt, and signed a one-year contract. They told me I would be repairing equipment, like I used to do in Uzbekistan,” he said.
After signing the contract, he underwent training near Rostov and was deployed to the so-called “special military operation” (SMO) in Luhansk in August, where he was injured by shrapnel in the eye during a drone attack. He later received treatment in Russian hospitals and was granted a leave of absence, during which he attempted to return to Uzbekistan but received no assistance from the Uzbek embassy.
“I was given 60 days of leave to recover. I wanted to return to Uzbekistan. I contacted the embassy in Moscow, but they refused to help me. I bought a migration card online for 50,000 rubles and returned to Uzbekistan on December 20, 2024,” he testified in court.
The court took into account his cooperation with the investigation and lack of prior convictions but found him guilty under Article 154 of the Uzbek Criminal Code (“Mercenarism”). He was sentenced to four years, one month, and 20 days of restricted freedom.
Several other Uzbek citizens have previously received similar sentences under the same article. Sentences for participation in the SMO have ranged from three to five years in prison.
