“They planted heroin in my pocket” – In Samarkand, a young man recruited into the Russian army was taken into custody from the courtroom
A 27-year-old young man from Kattaqurgan went to Russia to work, where he was accused of a drug crime and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Later, while in prison, he agreed to go to the war against Ukraine in exchange for being granted Russian citizenship and released from punishment. In court, he stated that he had not been involved in drug trafficking, and that heroin had been planted in his pocket before the documents were drawn up.
“They planted heroin in my pocket” – In Samarkand, a young man recruited into the Russian army was taken into custody from the courtroom
In Samarkand, criminal punishment was applied to a young man recruited into the Russian army.
According to the court decision, 27-year-old A.Kh., a resident of the city of Kattakurgan, went to Russia in 2023 to work and earn money. Later, he was arrested and imprisoned on charges of drug trafficking. While serving his sentence, he agreed to go to the war against Ukraine by signing a contract with the Russian armed forces.
In court, A.Kh. stated that he was unjustly accused of drug trafficking and was forced to confess to the charges after two months of torture.
“While I was working as a taxi driver, a girl named Nadezhda got into my car. While driving to the destination, we talked, and I got her phone number. After that, I got to know Nadezhda and we kept in touch.
On approximately October 13, 2023, Nadezhda called and asked me to take her to the city of Vladivostok. I agreed and went to her. We set off towards the destination. I bought cigarettes and water from a shop. After driving about 1-2 km, I stopped on the roadside to smoke. While Nadezhda and I were smoking, two men in civilian clothes arrived, threw us to the ground, and pinned us down.
They took 15 grams of heroin from Nadezhda's pocket. Then they planted that heroin in my pocket as well, filmed it as if drugs were found on me, and processed the documents.
The trial lasted from October 2023 to March 2025. By the verdict of the Vladivostok City Court on criminal cases, I was sentenced to 12 years of deprivation of liberty,” A.Kh. said in his testimony.
After that, he was taken to a correctional facility in the city of Krasnoyarsk. While he was serving his sentence, responsible officials of the Russian Ministry of Defense promised that if he participated in the war against Ukraine, he would be granted Russian citizenship, released from his prison term, and also paid a large amount of money.
On December 9, 2025, A.Kh. agreed to participate in the war against Ukraine and signed a one-year contract.
“They put me and 20 other people of various nationalities into a military vehicle. We traveled for 24 hours and arrived at a military airport. We flew by plane and arrived in the city of Rostov. There, other military personnel met us. They separated me and 65 other individuals, put us into a military vehicle, and took us to a military training ground.”