Ten lawyers defended Gairat Dustov—how did the appeal court proceedings unfold?

The correspondent of Kun.uz was present at the trial and monitored the proceedings.

Initially, the legal representatives of the defendant, journalists, and public activists were denied entry into the courthouse for various reasons. It later became known that the trial commenced without the presence of Dustov himself. This was reported by Aziz Obidov, the head of the Supreme Court's press service.

After the lawyers’ request to ensure Dustov's participation in the court was granted, only four media representatives who were present at the open session were allowed into the courtroom, while the others could not attend. The session, scheduled for 15:00, started with a two-hour delay—around 17:00.

At the beginning of the proceedings, Judge Farrukh Ergashov clarified the identity of Dustov Gayrat Akhmadovich, born in 1978 in the Kashkadarya region, and posed questions regarding his detention. The interests of the defendant were defended by 10 (!) lawyers, whose names were read by the judge.

According to the accused, after the initial court decision was made, he spent one night in the "Panel" isolation facility and was then transferred to the capital's Main Internal Affairs Directorate (GUVD). The Ministry of Internal Affairs and GUVD did not explain why he was moved from the isolation facility.

During the proceedings, the accused's health deteriorated, prompting the judge to announce a break. The session, which began at 17:00, lasted about three hours with breaks and concluded around 20:10 with Dustov's release from the courtroom.

He was sentenced to 8 days of administrative arrest under Article 183 of the Administrative Responsibility Code. The term of punishment was counted towards the time already served, and Dustov was released from custody. The parties who disagreed with the decision were informed of their right to file an appeal with the Supreme Court within 6 months.

In his closing remarks, the judge instructed the medical personnel who had arrived to take Dustov to the hospital for a complete medical examination, after which he was to be released home.

Important moments from the court proceedings can be viewed in full in the attached video.

Dilshoda Shomirzaeva,
correspondent of Kun.uz