An Uzbek was jailed for going to fight in Ukraine on the side of Russia

In Uzbekistan, 5-year-old Ildar Khairulin was sentenced to 38 years in prison. He was accused of serving in the army of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic,” reports “Radio Ozodlik".

Photo: IStock

A court in Uzbekistan found Khairulin guilty of mercenarism.

According to investigative documents, in 2014-2015 in Ukraine he “took part in hostilities against state armed forces.”

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However, relatives claim that Khairulin did not participate in the war in Ukraine, did not travel there, and was in Russia at the time of the accusation.
This is the first known case of a sentencing of a citizen of Uzbekistan for participation in hostilities on the territory of Ukraine.

Earlier, Uzbekistan stated that it does not recognize the independence of the separatist “DPR” and “LPR” and stands for the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Court sentence

The trial of Ildar Khairulin took place on October 23 in Tashkent.

Relatives claim that the court did not take into account documents that Khairulin did not admit to the charges against him and did not travel to Ukraine.

“The chairman of the court announced a sentence of imprisonment for my brother for a period of 5 years. Then the lawyer cited a fact confirming the absence of my brother on the territory of Ukraine and asked on what basis the judge imposed such an unfair punishment on my brother. In response to this question, the judge told the lawyer that he did not intend to give him a report and said that the defense “has time to appeal the verdict,” says Albina Khairulina, Ildar Khairulina’s older sister.

Closing indictment

The indictment and court documents say that during the investigation conducted in 2023, it was established that Ildar Khairulin participated in battles in the Donetsk region in 2014-2015.

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An investigator from the investigative department cited as evidence of the crime a profile opened in the name of Ildar Khairulin on the “Peacemaker” website.

According to the investigation, the conclusion of the portrait examination confirmed that the person captured in this photograph in military uniform and with a weapon in his hands is indeed Ildar Khairulin, and the owner of the profile in his posts “gave information about military operations” in Ukraine and “moved in purposes of participation in hostilities."

In addition, screenshots confirming the accusation against him were allegedly found on Khairulin’s mobile phone, which were subsequently seized as evidence. As a result, Ildar Khairulin was charged under Part 1 of Article 154 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan.

The Ukrainian website “Peacemaker” is known as an Internet resource that reveals the identities of mercenaries fighting in the ranks of the Russian army against Ukraine. This website, opened by a group of activists, lists the names of citizens of different countries, including Uzbeks. However, the data on this site is not officially confirmed information.

Relatives say the opposite

Relatives confirm that the photograph on the “Peacemaker” website belongs to Ildar Khairulin and that he was indeed photographed in military uniform and with a weapon in his hands.

However, they claim that the story behind the photograph is completely different from the one put forward by investigators.

According to them, Khairulin took the photograph posted on this site while he was on Russian territory, he did not travel to Ukraine at all, and the weapon depicted in the photograph is not a firearm.

“It's not a firearm, it's an air gun, it shoots pellets. These weapons are freely sold in Tatarstan and throughout Russia as a whole; permission to purchase them is not required at all. I don’t know how this photo ended up on the “Peacemaker” website. The investigation has this photo, several SMS messages and the testimony of two more witnesses. Ildar said he did not speak with these witnesses.

One of the witnesses admitted that he talked to my brother while drunk. And the other completely refused his testimony,” says Lenur Davletshin, Ildar Khairulin’s older brother.

According to Lenur Davletshin, in fact, his younger brother Ildar was arrested in May 2023 for a completely different reason - due to a family conflict that arose regarding his mother’s property.

According to him, after his arrest, Ildar was kept in Tashprison for almost three months without initiating a criminal case. There was no investigation or interrogation, says Lenur Davletshin.

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According to his mother Madina Khairulina, in 2014 Ildar was in the Republic of Tatarstan. The woman says that at that time she and her eldest son Lenur were in Russia.

“My son did not participate in the war. My son has a scar on his arm from a dog bite. They were interested in where his scar came from - from a bullet or from a dog bite. I said that Ildar was bitten by a dog before my eyes, the dog was big. He received outpatient treatment and has a medical card in Yelabuga. There is also a certificate,” says the mother of the convicted Uzbek citizen Madina Khairulina.

That is, Ildar Khairulin’s relatives claim that the man lived and worked in Russia for some time, and for some time in Uzbekistan, but he has never been to Ukraine. They also say that they provided the court with all the documents confirming their words.

Relatives of Ildar Khairulin claim that the investigation and trial in this case were completely groundless. They intend to appeal the verdict of October 23 in the Court of Appeal.

Uzbeks at war in Ukraine

This is the first known case of a sentencing of a citizen of Uzbekistan for participation in hostilities on the territory of Ukraine.
There is a lot of information about the participation of Uzbeks in this war, both on the side of Russia and on the side of Ukraine.

The Uzbek authorities have already warned that citizens participating in this war could be prosecuted and imprisoned for up to 5 years.

Officials in Uzbekistan have not provided any official information on the number of citizens who participated in the war in Ukraine and were convicted for their participation. However, human rights activists monitoring the situation of Uzbek citizens in Russia say that some Uzbek citizens go to war voluntarily, and others are deceived into participating in the war. Russia versus Ukraine.

Earlier, Uzbekistan stated that it does not recognize the independence of the separatist “DPR” and “LPR” and stands for the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

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