Internal Affairs investigator in Tashkent imprisoned for bribery

According to court documents reviewed by Kun.uz, N.Kh., born in 1998, was serving as an investigator at the Bektemir district Department for the Coordination of Internal Affairs. On September 17, 2024, he was apprehended while receiving $500 from a suspect in a criminal case in return for not imposing pre-trial detention.

In court, N.Kh. denied all charges and requested an acquittal.

"I charged the suspect under Article 276, Part 2 of the Criminal Code and provided him with a copy of the decision to apply a bail measure. He said he wanted to give me $500 as a token of gratitude for handling his case promptly and in accordance with the law. I told him I was just doing my job and did not need any money for it. I advised him to first pay the bail and, if he wished, he could return after the court's verdict to express his gratitude," N.Kh. stated in his testimony.

The investigator received the money in his office.

"He handed me his passport to make a copy. I noticed money sticking out from the passport and realized he had brought it as a token of gratitude. I took the passport and emptied the money onto the cabinet next to my desk. I accepted it because he gave it as a gesture of appreciation. If it was intended as a bribe, I repeatedly told him I did not want it," N.Kh. claimed in his statement.

However, the court found him guilty based on witness testimonies, forensic chemical analysis, and other evidence.

By the verdict of the Mirzo Ulugbek District Criminal Court, N.Kh. was found guilty of committing a crime under Article 210, Part 1 of the Criminal Code. He was sentenced to two years in prison and banned from working in the Ministry of Internal Affairs for three years.