Ex-pharmaceutical Agency Chief shifts blame to system, denies guilt in 'Dok-1 Max' trial for children's deaths

In a recent court session related to the trial of S.K., the former head of the Pharmaceutical Agency in Uzbekistan, who is accused of involvement in the Dok-1 Max syrup case, where at least 65 children reportedly died, the defendant denied any guilt, claiming that none of the suspects are responsible for the tragedy. 

S.K. expressed his view on the matter when questioned by Mahbuba Usmanova, a victim in the case. He asserted,

"I don't consider the defendants sitting here to be guilty as the leaders at that time. Everyone did their job."

The former leader argued that the medicine, Dok-1 Max syrup, was approved based on international standards by various officials over the years.

He pointed out, 

"No, if it is said that you and those sitting here are guilty now, then those who registered this drug in 2012 and 2017 are also guilty."

The accused emphasized that the drug's registration in 2012 involved different individuals than in 2017, but both instances were approved based on the same international standard.

Responding to the victim's question about why the poisonous substance in the medicine was not detected in time, S.K. defended the inspection procedures, stating, 

"In Uzbekistan, more than a thousand drugs are registered per year. For this reason, the international standard has been adopted that you register this drug according to this procedure."

He argued that mistakes could be attributed to errors in the international pharmacopoeia adopted by Uzbekistan.

The former head of the pharmaceutical agency claimed that he and his trial team introduced many innovations in the pharmaceutical industry, advocating for a mandatory inspection procedure conducted domestically rather than relying on foreign assessments. He asserted, 

"I want to tell the mass media and the victims sitting here that it is a mistake to say that the defendants made this mistake on purpose."

Throughout the court hearings, defendants and expert witnesses maintained that the international standards followed during the re-registration of "Dok-1 Max" syrup did not detect any poisonous substance.

They argued that not only the content of "Dok-1 Max" but also that of other drugs entering Uzbekistan is checked according to international standards, making it challenging to identify poisonous substances. They suggested that additional inspections could prevent the entry of harmful drugs into the country.