The verdict was delivered on February 23 by the criminal court of Uzbekistan district in Fergana region, Gazeta.uz reported.
According to the case materials, the defendant, identified as R.E., traveled to Russia in September 2024 for work and was employed in construction in Krasnodar region’s Oktyabrsky district.
In court testimony, he said that in October 2024 an acquaintance offered him a job as a truck driver and later brought a contract on November 13.
“Because I did not understand Russian, I signed the contract and other documents,” the defendant stated.
He was subsequently taken to Moscow, where he signed additional documents after speaking with several individuals. He was then sent to Rostov Region along with more than 20 other men of various nationalities, including Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Arabs, Tajiks, and Russians.
There, he was taken to a military training facility known as “Avangard.”
“At that point, I realized my acquaintance had deceived me into signing a contract to join the Russian Armed Forces instead of a driving job,” he told the court.
Deployment and combat experience
The defendant underwent 10 days of military training, including weapons handling and drills. On November 23, 2024, he was officially enlisted in the Russian army and assigned the rank of private.
Under the contract, he received a payment of 2 million rubles, which he said was transferred to his spouse’s bank card. He was later deployed to the Donetsk region of Ukraine, including the city of Tokmak.
He told the court that troops were tasked with building defensive positions and trenches in areas under Russian control.
“Many of those who joined the ranks died during military operations. Because of this, some recruits from Uzbekistan and other countries who had been forcibly enlisted took their own lives,” he said.
Fearing for his life, he contacted his wife via Telegram and told her he had unknowingly joined the Russian Armed Forces. He asked her to report the situation to the local internal affairs department in Uzbekistan district.
