How the purge of Lieutenant Colonel Rakhmanov’s defence team exposed the legal profession’s capitulation to the dictatorship of the security services

Arrests at the State Security Service and the Military Prosecutor’s Office: what is happening in Uzbekistan?

Recently, reports have appeared in the Uzbek press regarding the dismissal from their posts of the chairmen of the Republic’s Military Court and Military Prosecutor’s Office, as well as their deputies.

At the same time, news emerged of the arrests of high-ranking officials from the Internal Security Directorate of the State Security Service of Uzbekistan.

All these events share a common thread: each of the individuals involved was, to a greater or lesser extent, a link in a single chain — a large-scale embezzlement of state funds carried out through the state-owned enterprise ‘O‘ZTEXTREYD‘.

The ‘Erkin O’zbekiston’ movement has repeatedly and in detail informed its readers about the specifics of this scheme, which is why our information resources have been subjected to coordinated cyberattacks by the Uzbek authorities.

Lieutenant Colonel Valijon Rakhmanov, an officer of the Military Counter-Intelligence Directorate of the State Security Service (SSB), exposed, documented and reported to his immediate superiors a massive corruption scheme involving the embezzlement of funds allocated for strengthening Uzbekistan’s defence capabilities. However, instead of receiving recognition, the man who exposed this criminal syndicate was subjected to brutal reprisals. Lieutenant Colonel Rakhmanov was unlawfully sentenced to 19 years’ imprisonment on trumped-up charges of spying for the US and the UN.

His lawyers, Allan Pashkovsky and Vladimir Nikitin, were also subjected to repression by the authorities.

They paid for their principled stance and refusal to play by the corrupt officials’ rules with their professional careers: with the direct assistance of the Uzbekistan Bar Association, Pashkovsky and Nikitin had their licences revoked. It is this crackdown on Lieutenant Colonel Rakhmanov’s defence lawyers that is the subject of our investigation today.

The Bar Association – a front for the security services

At international human rights conferences, the leadership of the Uzbekistan Bar Association proclaims its independence. GONGO organisations loudly declare that the legal profession in the country is an independent institution of civil society.

But is this really the case?

In reality, a systemic crisis lies hidden behind the façade of official propaganda. The structure is paralysed by corruption, clannishness and financial irregularities on the part of the leadership. Instead of defending lawyers’ rights, the Bar Association has turned into a punitive tool of the security agencies, eliminating independent and principled lawyers.

At the heart of the destruction of independent legal representation lies an obvious constitutional contradiction. The Laws of the Republic of Uzbekistan ‘On Advocacy‘ and ‘On Guarantees of Advocacy Activity and Social Protection of Advocates‘ violate the principle of the separation of powers by enshrining direct executive control over the legal profession.

The key mechanism for this control was the appointment of the Chair of the Bar Council solely on the recommendation of the Ministry of Justice.

Direct confirmation of this administrative subordination came during the events of 18 November 2023 at the Bar Association’s 4th conference, when the Minister of Justice, Akbar Tashkulov, attending the event in person, proposed – or, more accurately, appointed – the current head of the organisation, Shukhrat Sadikov.

This procedure directly violates Articles 141 and 142 of the Constitution of Uzbekistan, which guarantee the independence and self-governance of the legal profession and prohibit interference in its activities.

The disregard for constitutional norms has led to catastrophic consequences: in just one year – from the end of 2024 to the end of 2025 – the number of practising lawyers in the country fell from 5,000 to 3,500. The loss of almost a third (30%) of the legal profession signifies the final dismantling of the institution of independent defence in the republic.

When independent lawyers document torture and falsification (as happened with the defence lawyers for Lieutenant Colonel Rakhmanov), the security forces and the courts resort to a scheme of extrajudicial reprisals.

Unjustified complaints of breaches of professional ethics are sent to the Bar Council.

Unlike complaints from members of the public, cases against ‘inconvenient’ defence lawyers are considered by Qualification Commissions within 1–2 days under the direct dictates of the Bar Council’s leadership.

The procedure for revoking a lawyer’s licence takes 10–15 minutes: without any expert assessments or witnesses, the lawyer is found ‘guilty’.

The judicial authorities then refer the cases to the courts, which swiftly rubber-stamp decisions to revoke the licences.

In this way, the legal profession has been definitively transformed into a tool for purging the legal landscape.

Corruption in the Bar as a price for submission to the SGB

In exchange for compliance with the directives of the security services, a system has been established within the Uzbekistan Bar Association to protect loyal personnel integrated into corrupt networks.

A striking example is the conduct of lawyer Eleonora Ubaidullaeva, who, having received large sums from clients, simply fails to fulfil her obligations.

One would think that putting a stop to such violations is the direct responsibility of the Bar Association. However, any complaints from citizens regarding her unlawful actions are blocked by the Tashkent regional office, as Ubaidullaeva herself sits on the city’s Qualification Commission.

The impunity of this body stems from its composition, which includes relatives of high-ranking officials from the State Security Service of Uzbekistan. These corrupt links extend as far as the Supreme Court, effectively turning the disciplinary body of the legal profession into a branch of the security services, and lawyers loyal to the authorities into mere intermediaries in the transfer of bribes.

The central administration of the Bar Association displays a complete lack of transparency in the allocation of funds. We are talking about tens of billions of soums a year, which flow in from across the country through compulsory contributions, grants and, of course, bribes, cynically disguised as ‘voluntary donations’.

Contrary to the generally accepted practice of using domestically manufactured cars, the leadership purchases expensive foreign SUVs. At the same time, an illegal scheme for siphoning off assets is in operation, with the personal involvement of the Chamber’s chief accountant, Usmanov: official vehicles are written off at zero depreciation value, transferred to loyal staff members, and then resold on the open market at the actual market price.

Meanwhile, the Chamber’s Deputy Chairman, Asliddin Mahammadiev, despite having an official salary of over 20 million soums a month, has managed to avoid paying mandatory membership fees for over a year.

Furthermore, Chairman Shukhrat Sadikov and his deputy, through the Board under their control, granted themselves interest-free loans from the lawyers’ fund. Thus, under the guise of improving their housing conditions, Sadikov and Mahammadiev carried out a non-repayable withdrawal of funds from the organisation’s budget amounting to 620 million soums each.

It is telling that Sardor Mamatkulov, head of the Bar Association’s regional office for the city of Tashkent, has effectively legitimised the practice of resolving professional matters outside the legal framework—in closed-door meetings with serving members of the security forces.

Such backroom dealings completely undermine the independence of the defence, turning the legal profession into a mere appendage of the investigative authorities.

Capitulation to the dictatorship of the security services

The Bar Association of Uzbekistan is not merely in a deep crisis – it is undergoing a complete moral and legal capitulation. Widespread corruption, clannishness, nepotism and the outright plundering of the budget have transformed a body tasked with defending human rights into a corrupt and punitive branch. The Bar Association’s leadership has effectively surrendered this independent institution by striking a full-scale deal with the Ministry of Justice and the State Security Service of Uzbekistan. Their loyalty is generously rewarded with impunity: the security forces turn a blind eye to the financial shenanigans of their hand-picked staff, who in return unquestioningly rubber-stamp orders to clear the legal landscape.

In an atmosphere of total fear and enforced silence, the legal profession in Uzbekistan has finally been transformed into an obedient theatre of shadows. The real directors of this production are the clients in uniform, methodically destroying the last remaining institutions of independent civil society in the country.

Many ordinary lawyers stubbornly ignore the scale of the disaster unfolding within the country’s legal system. They console themselves with the illusion of personal safety. But this is a fatal delusion. The repressive machinery set in motion by the Bar Council’s leadership has proven that no one will be able to sit this one out. Tomorrow, this factory of fabricated accusations and trumped-up cases will come for everyone. For everyone who dares to defend citizens’ rights honestly, professionally and uncompromisingly.

If the legal profession in Uzbekistan cannot find the strength to purge its ranks of puppets, security service stooges and shadowy wheeler-dealers, the law will be destroyed. All constitutional guarantees of independence and protection from interference will become nothing more than a hollow facade.

The country risks losing the institution of defence forever. In its place, Uzbekistan will be left with silent extras. Obedient puppets who will simply legalise repression and meekly rubber-stamp others’ verdicts.

The Moment of Truth: The Case of Lieutenant Colonel Rakhmanov

A striking confirmation of this systemic crisis was the persecution of Lieutenant Colonel Rakhmanov and the lawyers defending him. Today, this criminal case has effectively been discredited by the fact that all members of the investigation team have themselves come under investigation.

In the current situation, there is only one legitimate conclusion: the sentence must be quashed on the basis of newly discovered evidence, and the criminal nature of the actions taken by the organisers of this sham trial must be officially recognised. Lieutenant Colonel Rakhmanov must be immediately released from prison and fully rehabilitated, and the principled lawyers Allan Pashkovsky and Vladimir Nikitin must have their professional licences reinstated.

Any other outcome of the case against Rakhmanov, Pashkovsky and Nikitin will mean that their prosecution is purely a political show trial. A refusal to review this fabricated case will demonstrate to the international community the complete dismantling of the institutions of justice in Uzbekistan. This will entail the application of international legal mechanisms and systematic pressure from foreign partners, which will cause irreparable damage to the state’s international image.