Over the past three years, the number of criminal cases initiated under Article 154 (“Mercenarism”) of Uzbekistan’s Criminal Code has increased more than sevenfold — from 19 cases in 2022 to 139 in 2025. The figures were disclosed in the documentary Uzokdan izlangan baxt (“The Happiness Sought Far Away”), produced by the State Security Service (SGB).
According to the security service, since 2022 Uzbekistan has opened 338 criminal cases related to citizens’ participation in armed conflicts abroad. The SGB noted that every year law enforcement agencies identify hundreds of citizens who join religious extremist or international terrorist organizations, as well as those who enter foreign military structures as mercenaries. Most of the individuals involved were drawn into military activities after contact with criminal networks or through deception; in some cases, financial motives played a role.
The breakdown of cases under Article 154 is as follows:
2022 — 19 cases;
2023 — 68;
2024 — 112;
2025 — 139.
Under part one of Article 154, participation in hostilities on behalf of a foreign state or armed group carries a prison sentence of five to ten years. Under part two — recruitment, training, financing, supplying mercenaries, or using them in armed operations — the penalty ranges from seven to twelve years.
Fergana has repeatedly reported on cases prosecuted under this article. For example, in October of this year, a 55-year-old man from Namangan was sentenced to two years in prison for signing a contract with Russia’s Ministry of Defense and serving for a time in the Russian army. Earlier, a 32-year-old native of Bukhara Region received a five-year sentence for taking part in hostilities in the Luhansk region.
