IAD officer beats a journalist in a courthouse in Samarkand (video)

In the Samarkand region, an officer of the Internal Affairs Department (IAD), identified as Ahmad, used physical force and verbally insulted a journalist inside the Samarkand District Court, demanding that he confess to guilt. This was reported to QALAMPIR.UZ by journalist Bahodir Hasanov.

According to Hasanov, although the incident took place last year, the officer involved was not held accountable under the law and was only given a disciplinary punishment in the form of a warning (reprimand).

“I was sentenced to 10 days of administrative detention for calling a citizen ‘idiot’ during a journalistic investigation, while the officer who beat and insulted me was merely reprimanded,” Hasanov said.

According to the decision of the Samarkand District Court for Criminal Cases dated September 10, 2024, Bahodir Hasanov was found guilty of committing an offense under Article 183 and Part 1 of Article 194 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility of the Republic of Uzbekistan. He was sentenced to 10 days of administrative detention under Article 34 of the same code.

However, the Samarkand Regional Court for Criminal Cases reviewed the case on September 12, 2024, but left the previous court decision unchanged, dismissing the journalist’s appeal.

Furthermore, the judicial board for criminal cases of the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan reviewed the case on January 9, 2025, and also rejected the appeal. As a result, the decisions made by the Samarkand District Court on September 10 and by the Samarkand Regional Court on September 12, 2024, remained in force.

In addition, Hasanov filed an official complaint with the district prosecutor’s office on October 3, 2024. In his statement, he reported that on September 9, 2024, at 5:30 p.m., officers of the district police department prepared an administrative report against him under Articles 183 and 194 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility. He stated that the administrative case was then sent to the Samarkand District Court for consideration.

Hasanov further claimed that while being brought to the courthouse in handcuffs, officers named Ahmad and Rustam from the district police department physically assaulted him. He said they punched and kicked him in various parts of his body without cause, resulting in bodily injuries.