Tashkent hotel owner jailed for 8 years after deadly gas leak kills three, including two Russian citizens

According to the court verdict, four individuals were held criminally liable:

• Azamat Khojakulov, the hotel director
• Zayniddin Jamoldinov and Abdurasul Yusupov, who sold the boiler
• Nodir Qurbonov, the plumber who installed it

Jamoldinov and Yusupov, who are engaged in the sale of heating boilers, supplied the equipment to Karaman Palace and worked with hotel director Khojakulov and plumber Qurbonov to install it. However, the boiler they installed had exceeded its service life, was outdated, and had been structurally modified – specifically, the siphon in the condensate drainage system had been removed.

As a result, the boiler’s condensate pipe was connected directly to the sewer without a siphon, and the exhaust system was improperly installed, violating technical and safety regulations. The boiler was put into operation without any inspection of the flue system.

On October 20, 2024, carbon monoxide leaked from the boiler. This led to the deaths of three people:

• Inessa Papernaya, 47, a Russian journalist
• Maksim Radchenko, 45, also a Russian citizen
• Khushnud Udekov, 48, a citizen of Uzbekistan

According to the forensic medical report, all three died from acute respiratory failure caused by carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide poisoning.

The comprehensive technical report by the Republican Center for Forensic Expertise named after Kh. Suleymanova confirmed that the hotel’s heating equipment was outdated, had exceeded its service life, and had been improperly modified. The report stated that the removal of the siphon and direct connection of the drainage pipe to the sewer increased the risk of gas leakage, creating a serious hazard. Furthermore, the heating equipment and ventilation systems were not installed in accordance with technical or regulatory requirements.

The court found all four defendants guilty under Article 186, Part 4(a) of the Criminal Code (production, storage, transport, or sale of goods or services that do not meet safety requirements, resulting in death).

Azamat Khojakulov was sentenced to 8 years in prison. The other three – Jamoldinov, Yusupov, and Qurbonov – were sentenced to 3 years each under Article 57 of the Criminal Code.

About the incident

Inessa Papernaya was a journalist with Russia’s Lenta.ru news outlet. She and her partner, Maksim Radchenko, were staying at the Karaman Palace Hotel in the Mirabad district of Tashkent. On the morning of October 20, they did not come down for breakfast. When hotel staff called their room and received no response, they entered and found both guests dead in the bathroom.

In another room, Khushnud Udekov, a citizen of Uzbekistan, was also found dead.

Later, it was confirmed that traces of carbon monoxide were found in Papernaya’s blood.