On May 23, 2025, the Taylak District Criminal Court (Samarkand Region) heard a case against a woman charged under Article 113, Part 4 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan for knowingly infecting another person with HIV.
According to the case materials, she was diagnosed with HIV in 2014, and was officially registered with the Samarkand Regional AIDS Center, where she received medical treatment and was informed of her legal obligation not to transmit the virus. However, she entered into a relationship with a man (now her husband) and did not inform him of her diagnosis. They lived together in a civil marriage, had unprotected sexual relations, and had two children. In March 2025, her husband was diagnosed with HIV.
The defendant fully confessed in court. She admitted to withholding her diagnosis and engaging in unprotected intercourse with her husband, knowing the risks. The victim also confirmed these facts but expressed no claims against the defendant and requested leniency, emphasizing their ongoing family life and shared children.
The court found her guilty under Article 113(4) for knowingly transmitting HIV. Taking into account mitigating circumstances—including her full confession, lack of prior convictions, remorse, motherhood, and the victim’s request for leniency—the court sentenced her to three years of restriction of liberty.
As part of her sentence, she must remain in her neighbourhood, is prohibited from leaving the Samarkand Region without authorisation, and is subject to daily curfews and probation monitoring. The previous precautionary measure (“letter of good behavior”) was lifted upon the sentence taking legal effect.
