Several former customs officers who were prosecuted after the terrorist attacks in Tashkent 22 years ago were acquitted in 2021. However, the case is being reconsidered by the Supreme Court after the Tashkent regional prosecutor protested the acquittal.

On September 30, the Judicial Panel on Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court began hearing the case in cassation. Kun.uz correspondent reported about this.

In his speech, the prosecutor expressed his support for the protest of the Tashkent regional prosecutor and asked to cancel the acquittal of the former customs officers and to reconsider the case on appeal.

Defendants’ attorneys told the court that the defendants were innocent and the arguments presented in the prosecutor’s protest could not be grounds for finding the former customs officers guilty.

The defendants also asked to plead not guilty, to uphold the acquittal issued by the appellate panel of the Tashkent Regional Court on July 24, 2021. They insisted on refusing the protest satisfaction. 

The trial court adjourned and announced that the next hearing on the case would be held on October 7, 2021.

Kun.uz will continue to cover the trial.