According to the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan, 11,703 people were sentenced to imprisonment in the first half of 2025. This represents an increase of 2,133 individuals, or nearly 23%, compared to the same period in 2024, when 9,570 people were incarcerated.

The largest share of convictions was for fraud, with 7,508 people sentenced. Drug-related crimes ranked second, with 5,788 convictions. Theft accounted for 4,490 convictions. Additionally, 1,376 people were sentenced for causing grievous or moderate bodily harm, and 179 for premeditated murder.

Two individuals received life imprisonment sentences, both cases having been tried in Tashkent. For context, in the entire year of 2024, only three people received this punishment. This suggests an accelerating use of life sentences in the country.

Meanwhile, 17,336 people were granted early conditional release during the first half of the year. Another 5,528 had their sentences commuted to lighter penalties. The Tashkent region accounted for 2,294 early releases and 2,779 sentence commutations.

In terms of corruption-related offenses, 3,605 people were convicted in the first half of the year. Of these, 614 were fined, and six were stripped of the right to hold certain positions or engage in specific activities.

As stated by Akmal Burkhanov, Director of the Anti-Corruption Agency, at a Senate meeting on August 8, in 2025, 7,517 people were brought to criminal responsibility for corruption crimes. The damage to state interests exceeded 2.9 trillion soums. These figures raise questions about the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures in the country.

Source: www.gazeta.uz