A man who had been registered as an HIV-positive patient at the Republic of Karakalpakstan AIDS treatment centre since March 2019 was formally warned by medical staff against placing others at risk of HIV infection and had been notified of his potential criminal liability under the relevant law and Article 113 of the Criminal Code. Despite this, during March 2026, he engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse with a former acquaintance near a collector canal in his district, knowingly placing her at risk of HIV infection.
The defendant only partially admitted guilt at trial. He acknowledged knowing the victim since 2016 and having had a sexual relationship with her from that time, but claimed that she was already aware of his HIV status, stating that he had brought her to the regional AIDS centre in 2019 where a doctor had seen her. The court rejected this version of events, finding that his claim appeared designed to reduce his own culpability and was not supported by the evidence. The victim testified that she had been entirely unaware of his HIV status, that she had only learned of it after reporting the matter to police, that she subsequently tested negative for HIV on two occasions, and that she forgave the defendant and had no claims against him. Two medical witnesses from the regional AIDS centre testified via videoconference, confirming the defendant’s registration since 2019 and noting that because he had been taking his medication regularly, his viral load was very low — fewer than 50 copies per millilitre of blood — making transmission risk extremely low, though full recovery from the condition was not currently possible.
The court found no aggravating circumstances and identified several significant mitigating factors, including the defendant’s lack of prior criminal convictions, his two minor dependent children, his registration as a socially vulnerable household, and the very low transmission risk given his viral load. Applying Article 57 to impose a below-standard sanction, the court sentenced him to 1 year and 6 months of restricted liberty, to be served at his registered address, with permitted absences only for work, medical appointments, and hospital visits. An additional restriction prohibits him from leaving his district or changing residence without permission from the supervising authority. The sentence is to be served under the supervision of the Konyrат district police Probation Unit, with the term running from the date of registration with that unit.
