On December 4, the Andijan city criminal court issued a verdict against an Uzbek man who was had been conscripted by the Russia army in the invasion of Ukraine.
According to the indictment, T. A., 39, from the Markhamat district landed in Moscow in April 2023 to find seasonal work.
On July 21, 2023, the defendant signed contract No. 625 with the Armed Forces of Russia. Until December of that year, he participated in miltary operations as part of the Ukrainia invasion by Russian forces in the Ukrainian cities of Shakhtyorsk and Bakhmut. On December 31, 2023, he returned to Uzbekistan.
At the trial, the man fully pleaded guilty and stated that he repented his actions.
He said that on April 17, 2023, he arrived in Moscow and first worked as a butcher in the Sarok store for 15 days, and then got a job at the Novatek oil exchange. There, he met a Russian national who offered him to join the Russian Armed Forces to participate in military operations against Ukraine for a high monthly salary.
According to the defendant, the new acquaintance also promised that if the mercenary was injured, he would get compensated. The Uzbek was interested in the offer and, having signed a contract in June 2023, underwent two months of military training at a training ground in Moscow.
On July 21, 2023, he signed additional contracts with the Russian forces, under which he was promised 450 thousand rubles, or nearly $4,950, monthly wage for participating in military operations. At first, he received two payments of 150 thousand rubles, but then the payments stopped.
In late July 2023, he was sent to Shakhtyorsk and Bakhmut in Ukraine, where he met Tajiks and other foreigners. During the fighting until November 2023, the defendant, by his own admission, killed more than 10 Ukrainian servicemen.
For his “outstanding service” on the battlefield, he was transferred to a reconnaissance unit. Then, for five months, he participated in hostilities in Lugansk.
In December 2023, he returned to Moscow. He refused an offer to remain in service in Russia and decided to go with his sister and wife to Uzbekistan. According to his testimony, family members were partially aware of what he was doing.
On December 31, 2023, the man crossed returned to Uzbekistan via Kazakhstan, after which he voluntarily appeared before law enforcement agencies and provided all the documents confirming his service in the Russian Armed Forces, the court decision says.
At the hearing, the defendant expressed remorse, explaining his actions by his difficult financial situation and the fact that he was the sole breadwinner of the family.
Judge Otabek Mamazhanov found him guilty under Becoming Mercenary charge punishable by imprisonment for 5 to 10 years and Joining, getting recruited into military service of foreign states charge, punishable by a fine of up to 300 BCUs or correctional labor for up to 3 years of the Criminal Code.
The court took into account mitigating circumstances pleading guilt, remorse, no criminal record, family status and the presence of three children and sentenced him to 4 years and 2 months of house arrest.
