Photo from tatar-inform.ru
The Kattakurgan District Criminal Court in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand Region has sentenced 22-year-old local resident K.E., who fought in the Russian army, to four years of restricted liberty. He was found guilty of mercenarism, UzNews.uz reported, citing the court ruling.
According to the investigation, K.E. left for Russia for work in 2021. In December that year, he was detained with narcotics, and police established that he had been working as a courier delivering illegal substances.
The Uzbek national received a nine-year prison sentence and was sent to serve his term in Correctional Colony No. 5 in Nizhny Tagil.
According to his testimony, in 2024–25 Russian military officials repeatedly urged foreign inmates to sign contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense. In exchange, they were promised early release, a cash payment of 1.8 million rubles (over $23,000), housing, and expedited Russian citizenship.
K.E. refused to join the “special military operation” in Ukraine, but, he says, he was forcibly sent to serve in the Russian Armed Forces in January of this year. He first served at a military unit in the Ryazan Region, then underwent combat training in Donetsk and Luhansk.
He stated that he took part in hostilities. In February, he sustained shrapnel wounds during a Ukrainian drone attack.
After receiving treatment at a hospital in Vladivostok, he fled to Moscow and sought help at the Uzbek Embassy to return home. He came back to Uzbekistan in July and surrendered to authorities.
The court found K.E. guilty under Article 154 (“Mercenarism”) of Uzbekistan’s Criminal Code. Although the offense carries a prison term, the court, taking into account his remorse, positive character references, and other mitigating factors, sentenced him to four years of restricted liberty. During this period, he will remain under probation supervision and must comply with a number of restrictions.
