On November 4, the Kushtepa district criminal court of the Fergana province sentenced a national of Uzbekistan for participating in military operations on the territory of Ukraine.
As per the case, Alisher Khalikov, 51, a native of the Kushtepa district, went to Kyrgyzstan through the Dustlik customs post on May 26, 2023. From there, he flew to Russia on the Osh-St. Petersburg flight, where he lived in rented housing until November 2023, doing various temporary jobs.
As noted in the court's decision, on November 24, he signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense for compulsory military service for a period of one year, declaring his consent to participate in military operations on the side of Russia in Ukraine. After that, the Uzbek was placed with 80 other people he did not know before in the Kaminka military unit near the Russian-Finnish border under the supervision of Defense Ministry servicemen.
Khalikov said that a few days later the Russian authorities transferred 500 thousand rubles (64.6 million soums) to his bank card, of which he kept 100 thousand rubles for himself, and sent 400 thousand rubles in parts to his wife's bank card.
For two months, Khalikov underwent combat training in the Kaminka unit, learning how to handle firearms and ammunition. Then, on January 24, he was transferred to a military training ground in the village of Maysky in the Belgorod province, where he also continued his training.
On February 4, while crossing the border of the so-called LPR, a drone fired on the convoy from the Ukrainian side. Khalikov received wounds to the left temporal province of the head, left arm, left shoulder and right foot as a result of the explosion of a shell dropped by the drone. He regained consciousness in a Moscow hospital in March, where he underwent treatment for a month.
The Russian Federation transferred another 300 thousand rubles (37.8 million soums) to his bank card.
After recovering and receiving leave due to inability to participate in military operations, he returned to the dormitory of the Magnit hypermarket warehouse in St. Petersburg. Three days later, his wife came to see him, bringing his green biometric passport, which remained in Uzbekistan. He told her about what happened, and she suggested returning to Uzbekistan.
The court found Alisher Khalikov guilty under Becoming mercenary, that is, participation on the territory or side of a foreign state in an armed conflict or military operations of a person who is not a citizen or serviceman of the country ... with the aim of receiving material compensation or other personal benefits) and sentenced him to 5 years in prison.
Earlier, a 56-year-old Uzbek national was sentenced to 3 years in prison for participating in Russia's war against Ukraine. He said that he signed a contract to serve in the Russian armed forces without having time to read it. While serving in the Donetsk province, he was injured after an attack by Ukrainian troops using drones and grenades.
Another Uzbek national signed a contract with Wagner military company and served in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. He received the medal "For the Liberation of Artemovsk" and helped during Yevgeny Prigozhin's "March of Justice". A court in Tashkent sentenced him to 4 years of restricted freedom.
