The Security Service of Uzbekistan has reported the prevention of illegal activities by lawyers in Tashkent and Samarkand. According to the statement, a lawyer from a law firm in Tashkent and a legal advisor from a construction company promised to use their connections in the judicial system to secure a lighter sentence for a man convicted in 2021 for crimes related to fraud and human trafficking in exchange for $75,000. The agreement included helping to exclude the human trafficking charge from the indictment.
Upon receiving the requested money, both lawyers were apprehended. It was revealed that one of the lawyers had served as a judge in the Bekabad Interdistrict Court from 2015 to 2020, while the other had worked at the Bukhara Regional Court from 1999 to 2003.
In another case, a lawyer from a law firm, previously convicted of fraud, was arrested in Tashkent while accepting $17,000. He had promised to use his connections within the judicial system to change the sentence of a long-term prisoner from imprisonment to a non-custodial punishment.
In Samarkand, a lawyer from the Bar Association was detained for requesting $2,000 to ensure that a suspect would not be remanded in custody through his connections in the prosecutor's office. He received $1,500 of the requested amount. Criminal cases have been initiated under the charges of fraud and bribery according to the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan. The detained individuals are currently in custody pending further legal proceedings.
