The court in Uzbekistan issued a sentence to a 51-year-old citizen of the country who joined the Russian army and participated in the war against Ukraine. He was sentenced to five years in prison for mercenary article. This case has become one of the rare examples where the power of the post -Soviet country attracts its citizens for participation in the war on the side of Russia.
According to the court, in May 2023 the convicted went to the Primorsky Territory of Russia, where he got a job in the farm. At the end of January 2024, he got to a temporary detention center after a fight, in which he caused injuries to another person. The prisoner was offered an alternative: joining the ranks of the Armed Forces of Russia instead of criminal punishment.
He was promised from liability, simplified receipt of Russian citizenship, cash payments and other social bonuses. In March 2024, he made a military oath, received the position of Sagittarius and in October - a passport of a Russian citizen.
In court, the man stated that he did not fight directly, served on the "fourth line", not on the front line, and did not cross the official border of Ukraine. However, he was in the temporarily occupied by Russia Mariupol, who, from the point of view of international law, is the Ukrainian territory.
After a while, the man fled the scene and left Russia. In Uzbekistan, he was detained and criminally liable for mercenary - an action prohibited by national law.
The convicted person stated in court that he made a decision under coercion and under pressure. He requested the mitigation of the sentence, but the court took into account the fact of participation in a foreign military formation in the territory of another state and issued an indictment - five years of imprisonment.
