A young man, D.R., born in 2001 and a resident of Kasbi District in Kashkadarya Region, traveled to Russia in April 2022 to seek work. In Moscow, he worked as a private driver, but in September 2022, he was stopped by police officers who discovered drugs in his car. As a result, D.R. was sentenced to 7 years in prison.

On October 30, 2024, prison officials allegedly told him to sign documents stating he would serve the remainder of his sentence in Uzbekistan. Due to poor knowledge of Russian, D.R. signed, but he was then deceptively sent by plane to a military unit to participate in the war against Ukraine. As he testified in court, this process was carried out through trickery.

D.R. participated in combat operations for about a year, until November 18, 2025. To leave the front line, he shot himself in the leg, leading to hospitalization. He then escaped to Moscow and, with embassy assistance, returned to Uzbekistan. Later, he voluntarily turned himself in to law enforcement authorities and confessed.

By the verdict of Kasbi District Court on March 16, 2026, D.R. was found guilty under Part 1 of Article 154 (Mercenarism) and Part 1 of Article 154-1 (Joining the Military Service of a Foreign State) of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan. He was sentenced to 4 years and 1 month of restricted freedom, a punishment that fails to account for his traumatic ordeal and highlights the severe consequences of Russia's purported recruitment policies targeting migrants.

Source: kun.uz