A prominent Tashkent defense lawyer, Allan Pashkovskiy, has made serious public accusations against Uzbekistan’s special services, alleging they fabricated a criminal case against his client, whistleblower and former State Security Service (SSS) lieutenant colonel Valijon Rakhmanov. Pashkovskiy further implicates the Uzbek judiciary in aiding those attempting to fabricate the case. These accusations have reportedly led to Pashkovskiy and a colleague, Vladimir Nikitin, facing disciplinary actions, including the suspension of their lawyer’s licenses, a move described by other legal experts as a “blatant violation of the principles of legality”.
The controversy began with the arrest of Valijon Rakhmanov on February 25, 2024. According to Pashkovskiy, Rakhmanov, who was a former high-ranking SSS officer, had uncovered a large-scale corruption scheme resulting in “tens of millions of dollars” in damages to the country. Instead of investigating, the SSS detained Rakhmanov himself on February 25, 2024.
Alarming Claims of Torture and Procedural Violations
Pashkovskiy asserts that Rakhmanov was held without paperwork on his first day and was subsequently “tortured for the first one and a half to two months,” including being deprived of sleep in the SSS pre-trial detention center. A second defendant, R. Matyakupov, had previously worked in the same department and knew Rakhmanov well, also reportedly endured physical torture and threats.
During the investigation, Pashkovskiy claims the defense was severely hampered, given “only two days” to review seven volumes of case materials (over 2,000 pages) and video recordings and forbidden from using copying equipment. In court, most defense motions—such as requests to call witnesses or conduct examinations—were rejected, despite both Rakhmanov and Pashkovskiy asserting torture had occurred verbally and in writing.
On January 9, 2025, Rakhmanov was found guilty of treason and sentenced to 16 years in prison. The appellate court trial, in which Vladimir Nikitin joined Rakhmanov’s defense, allegedly “carbon-copied” the trial court, rejecting 95 percent of defense motions. Pashkovsky noted the court refused a forensic medical examination for torture victims, citing too much elapsed time. He also alleged that SSS officers who reportedly tortured the second defendant freely visited him in the pretrial detention center during the trial, threatening him to remain silent.
Disciplinary Actions and License Suspension
Pashkovskiy himself received multiple warnings and reprimands for alleged “violations of professional ethics” during the trial, which he views as trivial or retaliatory, such as having a “smiling facial” expression in court which a judge found distasteful.
The situation escalated after the appellate court upheld Rakhmanov’s conviction on April 8, 2025. Crucially, a week later, on April 15 – six days after the trial and “beyond the limits of power established by law” – the chairman of the appellate court sent an official letter to the Chamber of Advocates, requesting measures against Pashkovskiy for violating professional ethics. A similar letter followed for Vladimir Nikitin on April 18.
On April 25, a qualification commission “in no more than half an hour or an hour” decided to suspend Pashkovskiy’s and Nikitin’s lawyer licenses for four months, allegedly ignoring their right to review case materials. This “incredible speed” was noted by fellow lawyer Sergei Mayorov. The decision was swiftly sent to the administrative court, which upheld the suspensions on May 1 and 2, 2025, “without any clear evidence, no clear explanations, without involving any experts or third parties”. Pashkovskiy, with nearly 15 years of unblemished professional conduct, views these actions as “interference in the legitimate activities of a lawyer” and an “attempt, figuratively speaking, to shut us up”.
New Charges and Community Appeal
A new criminal case has also been opened against Valijon Rakhmanov for divulging state secrets (Article 162 of the Criminal Code). This charge reportedly relates to information his wife, Roksana Rakhmanova, shared about alleged corruption within the State Defense Industry Committee and the purported fabrication of the case against her husband, which the military prosecutor’s office now considers “state secrets”.
Sergey Mayorov, another prominent Tashkent lawyer, publicly condemned the license suspensions as a “blatant violation of the principles of legality” and suggested they represent persecution for the lawyers’ beliefs and professional activities. Mayorov highlighted that the court initiated disciplinary review, not with a formal private ruling, but with a mere letter in “violation of current legislation”. He appealed to the Chairman of the Chamber of Advocates of Uzbekistan to intervene and protect his colleagues who “demonstrate integrity”. However, based on subsequent events, it appears either the Chairman did not intervene, or the intervention was unsuccessful.
Pashkovskiy has since recorded a video message to the President of Uzbekistan, the Prosecutor General, and the head of the Supreme Court, seeking to inform them about “the chaos that is happening in certain areas” and demanding compliance with the law and a fair consideration of his client’s case.
This article is a summary of an article first published by AsiaTerra, May 30, 2025:
