The voices of Uzbek government propaganda continue to mislead the international community by claiming that, since Shavkat Mirziyoyev came to power, the country has embarked on large-scale reforms and that people’s lives have improved. By contrast, they assert that life under Islam Karimov was unbearable.

Pseudo-civil activists, hypocritical and self-serving human rights defenders, state-controlled media outlets, and loyal bloggers are attempting to convince the citizens of Uzbekistan and the rest of the world that Shavkat Mirziyoyev is saving the country from imminent collapse, and that the authorities have significantly improved their treatment of persons with disabilities, who, they claim, now have opportunities to participate in the socio-political life of the country.

Uzbek Authorities Persecute Persons with Disabilities

Using the example of the Yunusabad branch of the “Mehribonlik Society for Social Mutual Assistance of Persons with Disabilities”, we will shed light on the true attitude of the Uzbek authorities toward persons with disabilities, and on the problems these individuals have encountered while attempting to defend their constitutional rights.

In the last ten days of March this year, repeated visits by numerous law enforcement officers disturbed the peace and frightened the residents of the “Begubor” mahalla, located in the Yunusabad district of Tashkent. During these days, officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Guard, equipped with intimidating helmets, bulletproof vests, and armed with various weapons and special equipment, cordoned off the perimeter of the “Begubor” mahalla building early in the morning. This was the location where official events (meetings held with permission from government authorities) of the “Mehribonlik Society for Social Mutual Assistance of Persons with Disabilities” were scheduled to take place.

Background of the Conflict in the “Mehribonlik“ NGO for Persons with Disabilities

In September 2021, in an effort to attract material and other forms of assistance, Saodat Seifullina, Chairperson of the Yunusabad branch of the “Mehribonlik Society for Social Mutual Assistance of Persons with Disabilities”, hired social workers. During the course of their work, these social workers noticed that the material aid they were securing was not reaching the organization’s members in full. Instead, the chairperson appeared to be misappropriating property and funds intended to benefit persons with disabilities.

When the social workers and members of the society began demanding transparency and accountability in the NGO’s operations, the administration of the organization, in the spring of 2023, dismissed them without valid reasons. Some Russian-speaking members who were also fighting against corruption within the organization were expelled from membership.

Seeking justice, the social workers and members of the “Mehribonlik Society for Social Mutual Assistance of Persons with Disabilities” decided to defend their constitutional rights. Over the course of two years of legal struggle, the courts ruled in favor of the unlawfully dismissed employees, and supervisory authorities ordered the leadership of the “Mehribonlik Society for Social Mutual Assistance of Persons with Disabilities” to restore the violated rights of its workers and members. However, to this day, they have not been reinstated in their positions following their unlawful dismissal.

To resolve the conflict within the organization, on March 19 of the current year, the Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan organized a meeting of the Yunusabad branch of the “Mehribonlik Society for Social Mutual Assistance of Persons with Disabilities” in the premises of the “Begubor” mahalla. The purpose was to elect a new chairperson, as Saodat Seifullina had been removed from her position due to corruption-related offenses.

At the entrance to the venue where the reporting and election conference was held, the Ministry of Justice, with support from the National Guard, organized security checks for event participants.

When the unlawfully dismissed employees and principled members of the society attempted to enter the premises, a group of robust and aggressive women, led by Gulnara Azimova, Chairperson of the Bektemir branch of the “Mehribonlik Society for Social Mutual Assistance of Persons with Disabilities”, blocked their access to the building and provoked persons with disabilities into conflicts along ethnic and religious lines.

In an inadvertent admission, Gulnara Azimova revealed that officials from the Ministry of Justice had verbally instructed them not to allow previously dismissed and expelled members into the meeting — even if it meant resorting to provocative tactics.

The organizers of the meeting and the disruptive women threatened participants with beatings and imprisonment if they did not comply and vote for Nigora Nabiyeva, the candidate put forward by the Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan for the position of new chairperson of the Yunusabad branch of the “Mehribonlik Society for Social Mutual Assistance of Persons with Disabilities”.

In such an atmosphere, on March 19, 2025, during the reporting and election conference of the society for persons with disabilities, and in the presence of National Guard officers, 60 participating persons with disabilities were compelled to elect Nigora Nabiyeva as the new chairperson of their organization.

Justice Ministry Appointee Embezzles Foreign Aid

Two weeks after the election of the new chairperson of the Society for Persons with Disabilities, the Embassy of the State of Qatar in Uzbekistan, in honor of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr, provided charitable assistance through the public charity foundation “Vaqf”. It allocated 100 substantial food parcels, each containing 15 different items, to the Yunusabad branch of the “Mehribonlik Society for Social Mutual Assistance of Persons with Disabilities”.

For reasons known only to herself, Nigora Nabiyeva — the Justice Ministry’s appointee — stored the received humanitarian aid in the private residence of Gulnara Azimova.

Activists from the Yunusabad branch of the “Mehribonlik Society for Social Mutual Assistance of Persons with Disabilities” discovered that the new chairperson of the branch, Nigora Nabiyeva, acting in collusion with the heads of the Tashkent city, Bektemir district, and Yakkasaray district branches — Farhod Zakirov, Gulnara Azimova, and Zulfiya Yakubova — had completely misappropriated the humanitarian aid received. Instead, food parcels of significantly lower quality and content were distributed among the organization’s members, amounting to only about 30% of the original volume of the allocated assistance.

To address these unlawful actions, a meeting of the Yunusabad branch of the “Mehribonlik Society for Social Mutual Assistance of Persons with Disabilities” was held on June 16 of the current year at the “Begubor” mahalla premises. At the meeting, Farhod Zakirov, head of the Tashkent city branch of the Society, and a woman named Lailo, chair of the “Begubor” mahalla, along with National Guard officers whose presence at the meeting remains unexplained, defended the Ministry of Justice’s appointee who had embezzled resources intended for persons with disabilities.

When principled members of the society demanded to see the distribution ledger for the humanitarian aid, National Guard officers forcibly removed them from the premises on the orders of Lailo, the chair of the “Begubor” mahalla.

Situations like this inevitably raise a fundamental question: who will protect those who cannot protect themselves? The answer is clear: society as a whole. There is an urgent need for an effective system to monitor the distribution of material assistance and the expenditure of financial resources, for the publication of independent audit results on organizational websites, and for active public participation in oversight processes. It is crucial to foster an atmosphere of zero tolerance for any manifestations of corruption or abuse.

The incident involving members of the “Mehribonlik” NGO once again demonstrates the falsehood of the Mirziyoyev regime’s claims about caring for socially vulnerable groups. Behind the façade of grand declarations and pompous speeches by the Uzbek authorities lies a soulless bureaucratic machine, willing to crush the lives of those who attempt to defend their rights and who are most in need of support.

Chairperson Yakubova: “I Don’t Need People with Disabilities Like That!“

According to activists from the disability rights organization, corruption scandals have persisted since the founding of their NGO. Organizations meant to serve as a support and protection network for people with disabilities have themselves become arenas for abuse and embezzlement. One such figure is Zulfiya Yakubova, Chairperson of the Yakkasaray branch of the “Mehribonlik Society for Social Mutual Assistance of Persons with Disabilities”, who has held this position without interruption since 1998.

On June 17, 2025, Tatyana Davlatova, a person with a Group II disability, visited the office of the Yakkasaray branch of the “Mehribonlik Society for Social Mutual Assistance of Persons with Disabilities”, seeking to apply for membership. However, Zulfiya Yakubova, who is implicated in the misappropriation of humanitarian aid, refused to process her application or accept Davlatova as a member of the society, justifying her decision with the words: “I don’t need people with disabilities like that!”.

Davlatova reminded Zulfiya Yakubova that seven years earlier, she had brought documents on behalf of her bedridden brother, Yuri Nikolaev, who has a Group I disability, hoping to have him admitted as a member of the society and to secure material assistance for him in the form of adult diapers. However, at that time as well, Yakubova refused to accept her brother into the organization or to provide him with any material support, even on a one-time basis.

Davlatova believes that Yakubova’s negative attitude toward their family is linked both to Tatyana’s principled stance and  to their being of non-Uzbek ethnicity.

Systemic Corruption in Uzbekistan’s NGOs

Undoubtedly, the embezzlement of humanitarian aid — cynical as it may sound — is merely the visible surface of a much deeper and more dangerous problem: systemic corruption, which has permeated national NGOs serving people with disabilities. A striking example is the activities of the Society of Persons with Disabilities of Uzbekistan, which has established a corrupt system where noble objectives serve merely as a façade for personal enrichment, including for high-ranking government officials.

In order to gain access to significant government funding in the form of subsidies, grants, and social or state procurement contracts, the Chairperson and the legal advisor of the Society of Persons with Disabilities of Uzbekistan, Komil Abdullaev and Oybek Isakov, with the help of corrupt connections in the government, created a nationwide fraudulent scheme.

On June 10, 2021, the Central Board of the Society of Persons with Disabilities of Uzbekistan adopted a decision to admit all citizens of the country with disabilities into membership, waiving entrance fees, monthly dues, and bureaucratic formalities. According to the meeting minutes, as of June 2021, more than 800,000 people with disabilities were registered in Uzbekistan. Overnight, 795,000 citizens of Uzbekistan found themselves included as members of the Society of Persons with Disabilities of Uzbekistan — without even knowing it.

Attaching to the Central Board’s decision a set of recommendations and a technical-economic justification promising guaranteed employment for a large share of Uzbekistan’s people with disabilities, the document was submitted to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The author of this scheme, Oybek Isakov, handed a copy of the documents to his acquaintance, Mirmukhshin Akbarov, a former Cabinet of Ministers employee who, until 2010, had worked closely with the current Chairperson of the Uzbek Senate, Tanzila Narbaeva, holding a key position in Mirziyoyev’s government.

In this context, it is relevant to recall some facts from the past of these individuals. While Mirziyoyev was Prime Minister, a corrupt scheme emerged in Uzbekistan allowing people to pay for admission into secondary specialized and higher educational institutions. At the beginning of each academic year, educational leaders compiled so-called “corruption lists” of applicants who failed to achieve the required entrance exam scores but were willing to pay bribes for admission. These lists were physically delivered to the Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan, where Mirmukhshin Akbarov reviewed and prepared his conclusions. After coordinating with Tanzila Narbaeva, who at the time served as chief specialist in the government’s Information and Analytical Department for Social Affairs, Education, and Healthcare, Prime Minister Mirziyoyev issued relevant orders based on these lists.

The cash flows handled by Mirmukhshin Akbarov in the form of bribes reached as much as $150 million USD per year.

To lend a semblance of legitimacy to these crimes, Mirmukhshin Akbarov and Tanzila Narbaeva involved national disability NGOs. Officials from the Cabinet of Ministers, allegedly for reporting purposes, demanded from national disability NGOs lists of applicants with disabilities who had failed to meet admission thresholds. By adding merely 1% of applicants with disabilities to their “corruption lists”, Mirziyoyev’s team portrayed these lists as consisting entirely of young people with physical disabilities, thus creating the illusion of government concern for socially vulnerable groups.

By 2010, Tanzila Narbaeva, Mirmukhshin Akbarov, and Oybek Isakov had already been implicated in criminal cases related to economic crimes and were removed from their posts.

Oybek Isakov, who has been criminally convicted eight times and is a repeat offender for economic crimes, has long been synonymous with fraud and financial misconduct in Uzbekistan. One of Isakov’s most notorious crimes was his involvement, in 2015-2016, in the financial pyramid scheme of Ahmad Tursunbaev, better known as “Ahmadbay of Chinaz”, through which eager investors across Uzbekistan lost around $220 million USD.

Today, repeat offender Oybek Isakov heads the Association of Persons with Disabilities of Uzbekistan, while Mirmukhshin Akbarov, maintaining his corrupt connections at the highest levels of power, serves as chairperson of the trade union of the Association of Persons with Disabilities of Uzbekistan, exploiting it for personal enrichment.

On the basis of the unlawful decision of the Central Board of the Society of Persons with Disabilities of Uzbekistan, and with the direct assistance of Senate Chairperson Tanzila Narbaeva, President of Uzbekistan issued a decree on April 29, 2022. Among other provisions, it directed the allocation of government subsidies to the structural divisions of both the Society and the Association of Persons with Disabilities of Uzbekistan.

Two months later, the Parliamentary Commission for the Management of the Public Fund for the Support of Non-Governmental Organizations issued a resolution detailing criteria for the allocation of government subsidies to disability NGOs. Specifically, to qualify for state funding to cover the salaries of three staff members of any regional branch of the Society of Persons with Disabilities of Uzbekistan, the branch must have up to 15,000 registered members with disabilities. If membership reaches up to 20,000, the state funds four staff positions, and so forth, up to six employees for branches with more than 25,000 documented members.

Articles 4.1 and 4.4 of the current Charter of the Society of Persons with Disabilities of Uzbekistan stipulate that to become a member, an applicant must submit a membership application addressed to the head of the regional, city, or district organization. After this, the head of the branch must issue an order confirming the membership, and the new member is obliged to pay an entrance fee and monthly dues amounting to 1% of the minimum wage set by the state. At the time of this article’s publication, that amount was approximately $0.92. According to responsible employees within the organization, even today, the actual number of members of the Society of Persons with Disabilities of Uzbekistan does not exceed five thousand persons with disabilities.

By creating a nationwide fraudulent scheme, the Society of Persons with Disabilities of Uzbekistan and the Association of Persons with Disabilities of Uzbekistan have, since January 1, 2023, been receiving up to 100 billion Uzbek soums annually from the state in the form of subsidies, grants, and social contracts. However, these funds pale in comparison to what the Association’s subsidiaries, controlled by Mirmukhshin Akbarov, receive in untendered state contracts for various construction projects.

Civil activists are astounded by the brazenness with which the temporarily empowered leaders of disability NGOs commit their crimes. This brazenness manifests not only in the scale of the thefts but also in a flagrant disregard for moral norms. To avoid punishment for their crimes, the leaders of disability NGOs and their accomplices appoint a person with a physical disability and low income as director of a subsidiary enterprise. They promise this person a modest but stable salary, without explaining the true nature of the enterprise’s operations. When the fraudulent schemes are exposed, it becomes extremely difficult to prove the involvement of the real masterminds behind the crimes, while the director with a disability becomes the scapegoat.

A similar situation prevails in other NGOs across Uzbekistan. Paradoxically, the very organizations meant to protect and advocate for the rights of specific groups are at the forefront of corruption. Each year, the Uzbek authorities allocate around $100 million USD for the support of NGOs, which in turn engage in laundering the reputation of the Mirziyoyev regime both domestically and abroad.

In conclusion, it must be said that in Mirziyoyev’s so-called “New Uzbekistan”, there are no truly independent non-governmental organizations. The authorities utilize GONGOs (Government-Organized Non-Governmental Organizations) to enhance their image on the international stage, creating the illusion of civic engagement and public oversight in the country.

The activities of these organizations are directed toward promoting the policies of the Uzbek government, crafting a positive image of the country worldwide, and suppressing criticism from political opponents. Like many authoritarian regimes, the Mirziyoyev administration involves GONGOs in international events and conferences, where they present the government’s positions as if they reflect the views of the broader public—ultimately creating a distorted picture of the real situation in Uzbekistan.