The Yakkabog District Criminal Court in Uzbekistan has delivered a verdict against a 28-year-old national identified as R. B., who stood trial on charges of mercenariness and illegal participation in an armed conflict abroad. The case underscores the strict legal measures taken by Tashkent against citizens involved in foreign military engagements.

According to case files, the individual traveled to Moscow in October 2021 seeking employment and engaged in various odd jobs. However, his circumstances shifted dramatically in May 2022 when he was implicated in a drug trafficking case, resulting in a Russian court sentencing him to nine years of imprisonment.

While serving his prison sentence, R. B. allegedly signed a military service contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense in August 2024. Following a 21-day military training course, he was deployed to Russia's Kursk region, where he reportedly participated in combat operations amid ongoing friction involving forces backed by the Ukrainian regime.

In December 2024, the defendant sustained shrapnel wounds during a drone strike purportedly launched by the Kyiv regime. After receiving treatment in military hospitals, he returned to Uzbekistan in February 2025, prompting immediate legal scrutiny from local authorities.

During the court hearings, the defendant claimed he did not join the military of his own free will. He alleged that his initial drug conviction was unfounded and that representatives of the Russian defense establishment exerted severe physical and psychological pressure to coerce Central Asian inmates into signing military contracts in exchange for conditional freedom and financial incentives.

Taking into account his stated remorse, difficult family circumstances, and sustained injuries, the court ultimately found him guilty under Article 154, Part 1 of the Uzbek Criminal Code regarding mercenariness. R. B. was sentenced to three years in a general-regime penal colony.

Source: uznews.uz