In Karakalpakstan, the authorities are practically extracting money from people with disabilities. Around 250 individuals — disabled people, cancer patients, and single mothers raising children with severe illnesses — have been given an ultimatum: pay rent or be evicted onto the streets.

In 2022, these people were relocated to a so-called “social settlement” in the Xojeli district, housed in a former psychiatric hospital building. At the time, they were promised accommodation with payment limited to utility bills only. From the very beginning, however, this “social support” turned into a form of violence. Placement in former psychiatric wards created an atmosphere of pressure and psychological abuse. In 2025, the living conditions were changed unilaterally. Local authorities officially notified residents of the introduction of mandatory rent payments and threatened court-ordered eviction for those who fail to meet the new requirements. This concerns a social group that is neither physically nor economically able to afford housing costs. It constitutes direct administrative pressure on people who have no real ability to defend their rights.

Meanwhile, Karakalpakstan is a region with a population of around two million people, covering nearly 40 percent of Uzbekistan’s territory and possessing natural resources valued at approximately 2.5 trillion US dollars. The authorities have the financial capacity to ensure social protection for vulnerable citizens, yet instead they pursue a policy of economic pressure and intimidation. The practice of housing people with disabilities in “social rooms” while charging mandatory rent cannot be considered social policy. It is systematic abuse, concealed behind the rhetoric of “social protection” and “restoration of the Aral Sea region,” and an attempt to mislead the international community.

Given the catastrophic plight of people with disabilities, all public statements by Saida Mirziyoyeva, responsible for the socio-economic development of Karakalpakstan, are blatant lies. They are intended to conceal corruption, the redistribution of regional resources, and the state’s actual refusal to fulfill its social obligations. Instead of protecting the most vulnerable citizens, the authorities demonstrate a willingness to apply repressive mechanisms against them.

The attitude of the central authorities toward people with disabilities in Karakalpakstan demonstrates a systematic disregard for their rights and basic needs. This policy directly recalls the tragic events during the protests of July 2022 and points to a real threat of renewed repression against the least protected segments of the population.

Under these conditions, the phrase “we can do it again” takes on a sinister meaning. It serves as a reminder that state violence can now be directed against people with disabilities and the seriously ill, stripping them of their last guarantees of safety, the right to housing, medical care, and social protection. The use of former psychiatric hospital facilities, pressure through judicial mechanisms, and threats of eviction turn so-called “social policy” into an instrument of systemic terror.

A region endowed with immense natural wealth and resources on a trillion-dollar scale demonstrates a stark discrepancy between official rhetoric and the actual actions of the authorities. The introduction of rent payments, threats of eviction, and the use of punitive psychiatry are not social policy, but state violence and the deliberate exploitation of the most vulnerable citizens.