The Uzbek citizen Marufjon Shakarov, 22, who is now serving sentence in the Moscow’s Matrosskaya Tishina prison, has refused food for more than a month to protest against the court's decision.
On December 13, 2017, Marufjon Shakarov was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Preobrazhensky District Court on charges of attempting and storing with the purpose of selling of narcotics or psychotropic substances in large quantities.
According to the Uzbek Prosecutor General's Office, the Uzbek embassy in Russia is providing, jointly with the Prosecutor Office, all the required consular and legal assistance to Marufjon Shakarov, in particular it sent requests to the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Moscow judicial authorities.
As a result, on June 14, the Moscow City Criminal Court reclassified Marufjon Shakarov offence to storage without the purpose of selling of narcotics or psychotropic substances in large, and his sentence was cut to 5 years’ imprisonment.
It also became known that due to his hunger strike, Shakarov was moved to solitary confinement with round-the-clock video surveillance.
In the near future, Shakarov’s mother and aunt will be able to meet him.
As soon as the new verdict takes effect, consent may be granted to a consular officer of the Uzbek Embassy for a meeting with Marufjon Shakarov.
