Court bars media from hearing in police abuse case, citing “state secret”

“One of our sources reported that the head of the tax office had taken a schoolgirl into his official residence,” said operative officer Yusufbek Yoqubov during his testimony.

The hearing was part of the ongoing trial into the case of Gulirano Qosimova, a woman who was allegedly humiliated by DIA officers in Fergana. The court heard testimonies from participants of the “special operation” conducted at the residence of the district tax inspectorate head, including Gayrat Otaqulov, Yusuf Yoqubov, Tohir Bashirov, Sohib Nazarov, Azam Hamidjonov, Aziz Mamajonov, Elbek Muhammadjonov, Dilshod Qahhorov, and Muhammadjon Ortiqov.

The session began with testimony from Yusufbek Yoqubov, who at the time of the incident worked as an operative officer in the terrorism department of the Furqat District DIA and was directly involved in the operation:

“On 17 April 2025, we received information that the head of the district tax inspectorate had taken a schoolgirl into his office. I didn’t register this report. We immediately went there. We entered through the gate, not by jumping over the wall. Upon entering, we went straight to the second floor. There, we found the head of the tax office and the school principal completely naked. The person who reported to us had said that a girl in a school uniform had entered the house. But it turned out she wasn’t a schoolgirl – she was the school principal. After that, the deputy head, Jasur Rasulov, told us that everything was under control and to go downstairs,” said Yoqubov.

Following this, Avazbek Rahimov, chair of the Kuva District Administrative Court, announced that the testimonies of the operative officers contained state secrets. He ordered that their statements be heard behind closed doors and instructed the Kun.uz correspondent – the only media representative attending the open session – to leave the courtroom.

Later, the court announced a recess until 29 October.

Earlier, Kun.uz published an investigative report on the incident involving former school principal Gulirano Qosimova in the Furqat district. According to the report, DIA officers beat the woman, tore off her clothes, and filmed her while she was naked. The case was taken under the supervision of a Senate committee. The Ombudsman later reported that four DIA officials had been released from criminal liability and called for a thorough and impartial investigation into the actions of all individuals involved.

At a previous hearing, Qurbonali Abdurahmonov – one of the victims and former head of the district tax inspectorate – testified that his then-superior, Furqat district police chief Akmal Khojaev, had ordered him to procure 20 televisions for police officers every day. When Abdurahmonov refused, Khojaev allegedly threatened “to show what happens when someone goes against the DIA.”

During the 22 October hearing, witnesses Gayrat Otaqulov and Yusuf Yoqubov failed to appear in court. Because of this, the defendants – former DIA chief Akmal Khojaev and former deputy chief Jasur Rasulov – refused to testify until the witnesses were heard.