Photo: riastrela.ru
A court in the city of Karshi has sentenced a 20-year-old Uzbek citizen, identified as I.Zh., to four years of restricted liberty for mercenarism after he signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense and agreed to participate in the so-called special military operation. The verdict was reported by UzNews.uz, citing court documents.
According to the investigation, the young man had traveled to Saint Petersburg in February 2024 in search of work. He testified that after going two months without pay and falling into debt, he found a job through acquaintances as a driver and cook at a military unit based in Mytishchi, near Moscow. In June of the same year, he signed a one-year contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense for active-duty service, explicitly agreeing to participate in combat operations in Ukraine. The contract promised him a monthly salary of 195,000 rubles (approximately $2,400).
I.Zh. was subsequently deployed near Luhansk, where he underwent 14 days of military training. During this period, he sustained a leg injury from a drone explosion. In court, the defendant stated that the command failed to provide any assistance, and he had to pay 500,000 rubles (about $6,300) out of pocket for hospitalization.
After being denied a 15-day leave to continue his recovery, the young man left the military unit without authorization and returned to Uzbekistan.
In February of this year, I.Zh. voluntarily turned himself in to the State Security Service in the Kashkadarya region and confessed to taking part in the conflict as a mercenary. He submitted documents confirming his participation in combat on the Russian side, which became the basis for opening a criminal case.
The court found him guilty under Part 1 of Article 154 of Uzbekistan’s Criminal Code (“Mercenarism”) and sentenced him to four years of restricted liberty.
