Deputy Prosecutor General Svetlana Artikova has stated that the accusations against the ex-officials involved in sexual relations with children from an orphanage have been appropriately classified and that the evidence of rape was not substantiated. Deputy Head of the Armed Forces Ikrom Muslimov has explained the 3-year prison sentence they received.
During a briefing held on November 3, Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan Ikrom Muslimov and Deputy Prosecutor General Svetlana Artikova shed light on the verdict issued against Aibek Masharipov, former head of the Department of Justice in the Khorezm region, and Anvara Kuryazov from the Yangyaryk district emergency department.
The appellate court of the Tashkent City Criminal Court re-evaluated the case involving the rape of children from an orphanage in Urgench and sentenced the ex-officials to 3 years in prison. This sentence represents the maximum punishment under Part 1 of Article 128 (sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 16) and Part 1 of Article 128-1 (sexual intercourse with a person aged 16 to 18 years through material or property benefits) of the Criminal Code. In the initial trial, they were sentenced to only 1.5 years of restricted liberty under the same articles.
Activist Irina Matvienko raised concerns regarding the classification of the charges, arguing that the affected girls were in a vulnerable state and unable to provide full consent, thereby warranting the classification of the accused's actions as "criminal conspiracy and gang rape of minors." Such charges carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
Deputy Head of the Prosecutor General's Office Svetlana Artikova responded by highlighting that the plenum of the Supreme Court provided definitions for rape crimes, including the concepts of violence, threats, and the exploitation of the victim's helpless state, which fall under Article 118 of the Criminal Code (rape). However, after conducting additional procedural actions, it was found that the facts of violence, threats, and the use of the victim's helpless state during sexual intercourse were not substantiated.
Artikova further emphasized that the investigation correctly classified the charges under Articles 128 and 128-1.
Judge Ikrom Muslimov, Chairman of the Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases, explained that crimes are categorized based on their nature and level of public danger, ranging from those posing no significant public danger to those categorized as less severe, severe, and especially serious offences. The crimes under Part 1 of Article 128 and Part 1 of Article 128-1 fall into the category of crimes that do not pose substantial public danger.
Muslimov clarified that the defendants received the maximum punishment prescribed by law under these articles. According to Article 59 of the Criminal Code, when multiple crimes are committed, the punishment is determined by combining the sentences, with the more severe absorbing the less severe. If a set of crimes consists solely of offences that do not pose a significant public danger or are less severe, the final punishment may not exceed the maximum term or amount of punishment stipulated for the most serious offence committed.
The court sentenced the defendants to 3 years in prison, as confirmed by the Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court.
The crimes were committed before the amendments to the Criminal Code, which tightened punishments for crimes against women and children, came into effect on April 11, 2023. As a result, Masharipov and Kuryazov are prosecuted under the previous version of the articles.
Judge Muslimov concluded by highlighting that the decision of the appellate instance of the Tashkent City Court is not final, and the parties involved have the right to file complaints or protests.
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