A district criminal court in the Republic of Karakalpakstan convicted a woman living with HIV under Article 113(4) of the Criminal Code for exposing another person to the risk of HIV transmission.
The woman had been diagnosed with HIV in January 2025 and was registered with the Republican AIDS Centre in Karakalpakstan. Upon registration, she was formally warned that exposing another person to HIV or transmitting the virus could result in criminal liability.
According to the prosecution, between the summer of 2025 and 30 December 2025, she engaged in three episodes of consensual sexual intercourse without using condoms with a male neighbour at her home. The man subsequently learned from neighbours that she was living with HIV and reported the matter to the police. He underwent HIV testing on two occasions at the Republican AIDS Centre, and both tests were negative.
At trial, the woman admitted having had sexual relations with the complainant but denied criminal responsibility. She claimed that the complainant had forced her to have sexual intercourse and that she had informed him that she was living with HIV, although he was intoxicated and did not listen. The complainant rejected this account, testifying that the relationship had been consensual, that she had never disclosed her HIV status before they had sex, and that they had not used condoms. Although he sought criminal proceedings after discovering her status, he told the court that he forgave her.
An infectious disease specialist from the Republican AIDS Centre testified that the woman had been registered since January 2025 and had received the legally required counselling and warning regarding her obligations. The witness also explained that the woman had been adhering to antiretroviral treatment and had a viral load of fewer than 50 copies per millilitre of blood, meaning that the risk of HIV transmission was very low, although HIV infection remains incurable.
The court rejected the woman’s defence that she had warned the complainant about her HIV status, finding that this claim had been made to reduce her criminal liability and was contradicted by the complainant’s testimony and the confrontation records obtained during the investigation. The court relied on the complainant’s testimony, the report made to the police, records confirming the woman’s HIV registration and prior legal warning, confrontation records, and other evidence to conclude that she had knowingly exposed another person to the risk of HIV infection.
In sentencing, the court considered as mitigating circumstances that the woman had no previous convictions, was raising three minor children, and that her viral load was suppressed, making the risk of transmission very low. Finding no aggravating circumstances, the court applied Article 57 of the Criminal Code to impose a more lenient sentence than ordinarily provided for the offence.
The woman was sentenced to two years’ restriction of liberty. She was prohibited from leaving her home except for work, medical appointments, and hospital treatment, was barred from leaving the district or changing her residence without the permission of the supervising authorities, and was placed under probation supervision.
