Uzbekistan Sentences Man in Mercenary Case

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — A court in the Surkhandarya region of Uzbekistan has issued a verdict in a criminal case involving mercenary activity. The decision was delivered by the Shurchi district criminal court.

According to case materials, the man left for Russia for employment in November 2024. In August 2025, he signed a contract with the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and entered military service.

After completing training, he was deployed to a combat zone. In September 2025, he was present in the Kursk region and participated in hostilities between Russia and Ukraine. He was later injured and transferred to a military hospital in the Moscow region.

Court documents state that the defendant subsequently refused to continue participating in combat operations, contacted a diplomatic mission, and returned to Uzbekistan.

The court found him guilty under Part 1 of Article 154 (mercenary activity) and Part 1 of Article 154-1 (joining or recruitment into military service or other security structures of foreign states) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

He was sentenced to three years and six months of restricted freedom.