Reports have surfaced on social media that several young men gang raped a 14-year-old girl in Uchkuprik district of Fergana province on January 9. Four 23-year-old men have been arrested.
Nilufar Giyosova, chief of the Department for Women and Children's Affairs under the Interior Ministry said that on January 10, the Investigative Department of the Uchkuprik district police department opened a criminal case under Rape of a person under 18. This offense is punishable by 10 to 15 years in prison.
She reported that the suspects were detained under Article 221 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The court ordered their pretrial detention. The Fergana province police department is conducting the pre-trial investigation.
The Children's Ombudsman's Office said that they could not disclose details of the criminal case due to the child's interests: "public dissemination of information about the child in the media would harm the rights of the victim." Children's Rights Ombudsperson Surayo Rakhmonova has taken control over the situation.
