‘I thought I was going to die’: Tashkent police torture suspects, attempt to frame them in drug case

Kun.uz has reviewed the court ruling on the case involving officers of the Yangihayot District Police Department.

According to the verdict, Farhod Qoraev (born in 1987) served as a senior operative at the Yangihayot district department, while Bahrom Shonazarov (b. 1986) and Karimjon Mirzaboyev (b. 1991) worked as patrol inspectors.

The case centers around Mirhoshim Kutepetdinov, who was serving a sentence in a penal colony in Zangiota district. In early August 2024, he informed inspector Bahrom Shonazarov about a stash of drugs hidden near an unfinished building opposite the Minerva City residential complex in Yangihayot district. He claimed that individuals in a black Spark car would pick them up and asked Shonazarov to ensure their safe retrieval. Shonazarov agreed to help carry out the illegal plan.

In the early hours of August 4, 2024, Shonazarov and his colleague Mirzaboyev left their assigned district and drove around the drug stash location. Unaware of the drug details, Mirzaboyev was not involved in the plan.

Around 2:00 a.m., they spotted two men – Mehrob Ashurov and Shomuhammad Shotursunov – near the area. Shonazarov checked Ashurov’s phone and found a photo and location data pointing to a stash containing 5 grams of synthetic drugs. He assumed Ashurov and Shotursunov had come to collect it.

Shonazarov forcibly took Ashurov to the stash site and pretended to discover the drugs himself. Without witnesses, he seized the evidence and placed it in his vehicle. Both men were accused of possessing the drugs, and other officers from the district department were called to the scene.

Farhod Qoraev, the senior operative, also arrived but did not inform his superiors or the duty unit. Instead, he began conducting an unauthorized investigation.

Qoraev handcuffed Ashurov, Shotursunov, and three other individuals (including a woman), denying them legal protection. He physically assaulted them at the scene.

Later, Qoraev forced Ashurov to confess that 953.84 grams of hashish – found earlier but not belonging to him – were his and his companions'. He brought Ashurov into a room without surveillance, raised his handcuffed arms above his head, made him stand facing the wall, covered his head with a plastic bag, and taped it tightly. He then beat him and used a stun gun until Ashurov, unable to endure the torture, wrote a false confession.

Qoraev also tortured another suspect, A. Islomov, by wrapping his hands with tape, placing several plastic bags over his head, and tightening them around his neck. When Islomov pleaded, “I’d rather die than admit to what you want,” Qoraev struck his chest and abdomen until he collapsed in pain.

He also tortured Shotursunov and a man named I. Sobirov. Notably, Qoraev allegedly threatened to burn Sobirov’s genitals with a lit lighter unless he confessed, causing Sobirov to submit.

It was later discovered that inspector Bahrom Shonazarov was linked to a group attempting to sell counterfeit $17,900. The group was arrested during a sting operation.

In court, Qoraev, Shonazarov, and Mirzaboyev partially admitted guilt. Qoraev denied using physical force and claimed the suspects gave confessions voluntarily.

However, victim Ashurov provided harrowing testimony:

“They brought me into the room with handcuffs on. Farhod Qoraev entered, raised my arms above my head, and put a black plastic bag over my head, taping it tightly. I began to suffocate as the bag clung to my nose. He shocked my back and legs with a stun gun. He then asked who the drugs belonged to. I told him they weren’t mine – that I had only come with an acquaintance to pick up 5 grams of ‘Alpha PVP’. He responded, ‘Looks like you don’t get it, kid,’ and put the bag back over my head. He kept hitting me in the ribs from both sides. I was suffocating – I thought I was going to die. I told him I would admit to everything, just to make the torture stop. If I hadn’t, he might have killed me.”

Shotursunov also testified that physical torture was used against him, including attempts to burn his genitals with a lighter.

On May 16, 2025, the Chilonzor District Criminal Court found Qoraev, Shonazarov, and Mirzaboyev guilty under multiple articles of the Criminal Code. Farhod Qoraev and Karimjon Mirzaboyev were sentenced to 5 years and 1 month in prison, while Bahrom Shonazarov received 11 years.

In addition, Mirhoshim Kutepetdinov was sentenced to 12 years and 6 months for drug-related crimes. Five others were imprisoned for various terms in connection to the counterfeit currency case.