Uzbek Mercenary Sentenced for Fighting in Ukraine

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Marhamat District Criminal Court in Andijan region has sentenced a citizen of Uzbekistan, D. M., for participating in hostilities on the side of the Russian Federation in the conflict in Ukraine.

According to the case materials, in October 2022, the man signed a three-month contract with the Russian armed forces. He underwent military training and was deployed in the combat zone in Luhansk, where he was assigned an AK-74 assault rifle.

During the trial, D. M. fully admitted his guilt and expressed remorse. He explained that he had come to Russia with his father for work in 2021 and signed the contract under duress.

The man stated that while in Moscow, a conflict occurred between him, his father, and a Russian citizen, after which police officers offered them release on the condition of participating in military actions.

He also claimed that he did not use a weapon while serving, performed cooking duties, and was unaware that his actions were illegal under Uzbek law.

The court found D. M. guilty under Part 1 of Article 154 of the Criminal Code — mercenarism. Mitigating circumstances considered included admission of guilt, remorse, and lack of prior criminal record, while a profit motive was considered an aggravating factor.

D. M. was sentenced to three years of imprisonment in a general regime colony. Additionally, he was ordered to pay 19.38 million soums to cover the costs incurred by the Kashkadarya Region Internal Affairs Department related to his transfer.