What problems do citizens bring to the Minister of Internal Affairs' office? A Gazeta report.

**What problems do citizens address to the Minister of Internal Affairs: Gazeta report**

On August 2, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan, Lieutenant General Aziz Tashpulatov, appointed to this post in March 2025, held his 16th personal reception for citizens. The event took place at the Zhar Sports Complex under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, starting at 10:00 AM and ending at 11:00 PM. Some citizens had been queuing since the previous evening.

Gazeta correspondent Mirolim Isazhonov attended the reception from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM to understand the issues people were addressing to the minister and spoke with some of them. Their stories are presented below. Gazeta is not aware of how specific requests were resolved.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, deputy ministers, heads of relevant services, and responsible officials also participated in the reception. They heard inquiries from both individuals and legal entities on a variety of issues. A total of 526 inquiries were registered. A significant portion—320 inquiries, or 61%—were reportedly successfully resolved during the consultation. The remaining 206 inquiries were kept under review for further investigation. That same day, similar inquiries were held by the heads of internal affairs agencies in Karakalpakstan, Tashkent, and the regions, where 440 inquiries were received, 211 (48%) of which were resolved on the spot.

**Gulnoza Rashidova, Payarik District, Samarkand Region**

"I built a 100-child kindergarten as part of a public-private partnership. We have all the necessary documents and licenses. We initially built the first floor using our own funds, and then, in accordance with a presidential decree, we received a preferential loan at 0.5% and completed the second floor. Construction began in 2021, and the kindergarten opened in 2023.

When we started working, we had 16 employees and over 90 children. We also organized a sewing workshop for needy and single women, as well as a training center for youth and children. However, due to various pressures, our operations declined, and we were forced to close the kindergarten. The building has been closed for a year and a half. During this time, the bank loan debt, including penalties, has grown to 1.8 billion soums.

The most serious problem is that the doors to the building were broken down, even though we were not involved in the lawsuit and were not even notified of it. We have video recordings and other evidence. Five employees of the Payaryk branch of Mikrokreditbank arbitrarily broke down the doors and windows of the building and threatened us.

The two-story building, with an area of 2000 square meters, was valued by a state expert at over 4 billion soums. However, we learned that the bank is trying to sell it for approximately 1.4 billion soums. We weren't officially notified of this.

I previously appealed to the Prosecutor General's Office, the Committee on Family and Women's Affairs, and the Senate on this matter. However, there was no positive outcome. Today, I went to see the Minister of Internal Affairs for the first time. I've been waiting since 6:00 a.m. to get in; my number in line is 276."

**Jahonbek Alimov, Shavat District, Khorezm Region**

"While I was on a business trip abroad, my manager registered our house in Tashkent in his name, putting pressure on my parents. Taking advantage of their advanced age, he intimidated them with the words, 'Your son will go to jail; he has debts.' He also used 719 million soums of company funds for personal use and withdrew another 108 million soums from the company account using a forged power of attorney.

The Yakkasaray District Department of Internal Affairs has been investigating these fraudulent cases for a year and a half, but so far there have been no results. In fact, a criminal case should have been opened under several articles of the Criminal Code for these facts. But only one case has been opened – for fraud. Furthermore, the investigation itself is constantly being delayed.

We have repeatedly requested that the investigation be transferred to another district, but all requests are returned to the same investigator. For a year now, the evidence we presented – the electronic signature, the forged power of attorney, and other materials – has not been legally assessed. I only want justice, the return of our home and money, and the prosecution of those responsible.

We have repeatedly appealed to the Prosecutor General's Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the State Security Service regarding this matter, but to no avail. I came to see the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs hoping to obtain justice. I have been standing in line since 10:00 PM the previous day; my number is 143."

**Nargiza Malaboeva, Gulistan District, Syrdarya Region**

"We are a family business. At first, I repaid the loan on time, but then, due to financial difficulties, I defaulted. I'm still making payments. My case has been reviewed four times and closed due to a lack of evidence. However, last week, an investigator from the Gulistan Department of Internal Affairs summoned my husband and threatened, "If you don't deposit 466 million soums, we'll put you and your wife in jail."

My loan was 373.2 million soums. Of that, we paid 160 million soums to the bank. We transferred another 158 million soums to the property owner, renovated his store, and removed the mortgage from the property. We have receipts and other evidence. But now the investigator is ignoring these payments and is again demanding that this amount be transferred to the state. If that happens, we'll have to make double payments on the same loan. We also work at the Abu Sahiy market, employing 168 people. If my husband is arrested, our business will grind to a halt, and we won't be able to pay off our other loans.

My complaint is that the investigation is protecting the interests of one party. We are ready to repay the debt to the state, but we ask that the funds we have already paid be taken into account and that the pressure be stopped. That's why I came to see the Minister of Internal Affairs, seeking justice. I arrived yesterday at 10:00 PM and signed up for the appointment, number 376. I'm now waiting for an appointment."

**Sardor Iskandarov, Termez**

"On April 26th, my whole family went on vacation to Sangardak Waterfall. About an hour later, my two-year-old son, Zubair, who was playing with his peers, disappeared without a trace. We haven't heard from him since. From the very beginning, I didn't believe he was swept away by the water. I believe he was kidnapped.

The fact is that at the time of the incident, there was no footage from the CCTV cameras installed on the main road to Sangardak. The reasons for this were explained in various ways: one time they said a cable had been cut, another that the cameras had failed due to a power surge.

For three months, we received virtually no information about the investigation. We contacted the prosecutor's office and the internal affairs agencies several times. Then, the case was dismissed as a routine disappearance. After that, we appealed to the Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs asking them to review the case. I posted wanted posters for my son on the streets myself, distributed them on social media, and broadcast them on television. However, the posters were taken down the very next day.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations concluded that it had thoroughly searched the waterways for two months and found no trace of my son. After this, the search on water was discontinued. We ask that the search be continued on land and that the case be investigated as a possible crime.

We came to the Minister of Internal Affairs with one goal: to intensify the search and find our child. We want the fate of this two-year-old Uzbek citizen to be resolved and for all possible means to be used to find him.

As soon as we learned of the minister's appointment, we left the Surkhandarya region at 1:30 PM on August 1st and arrived in Tashkent around 2:30 AM. We've been waiting our turn ever since. Our number is 85. However, the appointment process is proceeding very slowly, which is also causing discontent among the people."