Uzbek Forum for Human Rights has obtained a copy of a forensic medical report confirming that human rights defender Javokhir Muminov, who was arrested in Kashkadarya region on  June 5 2026, sustained multiple injuries while in police detention.

Muminov, a member of the Uzbek human rights organisation Ezgulik, told his lawyer that officers had beaten and suffocated him by placing a bag over his head inside the building of the Karshi City Department of Internal Affairs. On June 10 his lawyer, Lazizjon Sharinov, appealed to the Karshi city prosecutor and requested a forensic medical examination.

According to the forensic report, Muminov had multiple bruises and abrasions on both thighs, his shoulders, and pelvic area. The expert also recorded pain in the head, neck, and right ankle.

The expert concluded that the injuries had been caused by blunt hard objects and that the timing of the injuries was consistent with the period described by Muminov and that the exact circumstances in which the injuries were sustained should be established by an investigation.

“Shut his mouth”: Muminov’s account of his detention

During the forensic examination, Muminov gave a detailed account of his detention. He alleges that on June 5, two unidentified men in civilian clothes approached him in Karshi and tried to place a piece of paper in his pocket.

“They did not manage to do it. I immediately turned my pockets inside out,” Muminov told the expert.

Muminov said that shortly afterwards, an officer wearing “a black helmet marked MOON” approached him and forced him into a car. According to Muminov, he was kicked in the lower back and buttocks and officers continued to strike him on the head while he was inside the car.

Muminov also reported that, during the transfer, officers put a bag over his head and tightened it. Once inside the Karshi City Department of Internal Affairs, he was first taken into a room, but after someone noted that there was a video camera there, he was kept in the corridor. He said that when he tried to sit down, officers kicked him in the legs.

“When I again said that I felt unwell, an officer in a black T-shirt said: ‘Shut his mouth,’” Muminov said.

According to Muminov, officers then fully closed the bag over his head and taped his mouth shut, despite his complaints that he could not breathe.

After Muminov’s condition deteriorated, officers were forced to call an ambulance. Medical assistance was provided to him several times, both inside the police building and later, after he was placed in a temporary detention facility in the early hours of June 6. According to the forensic report, an ambulance was called for him at least four or five times before he was transferred to pre-trial detention facility No. 5 in Karshi on June 9.

The facility refused to admit him that day because of his “leg injury” and he was not admitted until the following day.

Background: A case linked to allegations of abuse by enforcement officers

Javokhir Muminov was arrested on June 5, 2026 on extortion charges under Article 165-3 of Uzbekistan’s Criminal Code. The criminal case is linked to a dispute surrounding the investigation into the beating of a resident Akbar Akbarov by officers of the Bureau of Compulsory Enforcement. Muminov had been assisting Akbarov in this case.

In May 2026, one of the officers, Shukhrat Kuvatov, was convicted of causing bodily harm to Akbar Akbarov and sentenced to two years of restricted freedom. Akbarov appealed the verdict, asking the court to examine the role of another Bureau of Compulsory Enforcement officer, Khusan Nurmakhmetov, the deputy head of the Karshi City Bureau.

On June 5, 2026, the same day Muminov was arrested, two officers of the Bureau of Compulsory Enforcement who had been accused of assaulting Akbarov filed a complaint with the police. They alleged that Akbarov, his wife, and activist Javokhir Muminov had demanded 220 million Uzbek soums, approximately USD 18,300, in exchange for withdrawing an appeal against the court verdict and ceasing efforts to seek harsher punishment for the officers.

After the extortion complaint was filed, one of the convicted officers transferred 50 million Uzbek soums, approximately USD 4,000, to a bank card registered in the name of Akbarov’s wife. Investigators later treated this transfer as proceeds of extortion. The payment became a key piece of evidence in the criminal case opened against Akbarov, his wife, and Muminov.

Muminov’s arrest and beating appears to be the latest in a pattern of targeted attacks and retaliations against rights activists by the Uzbek authorities.

Uzbek Forum for Human Rights calls on the Uzbek government to conduct a prompt, and independent investigation into Javokhir Muminov’s allegations of torture and ill-treatment; ensure that those responsible are held accountable; and guarantee Muminov access to medical care, lawyers, and protection from further pressure.