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Counter-Terrorism

Uzbek-U.S. Citizen Extradited from Georgia on Charges of Supporting ISIS and al-Nusrah Front

Davud Ansariy, an Uzbek citizen who is also a naturalized U.S. citizen, has been extradited from Georgia to New York. U.S. prosecutors accuse him of leading a network that raised money to support ISIS and the al-Nusrah Front and helped aspiring fighters travel to Syria. Ansariy, 41, also known as Kozimjon Gafurov and Kozim, was arrested in Tbilisi in August 2026 and extradited to the United States on September 23. He faces one count of conspiracy to provide material support and one count of providing and attempting to provide material support to ISIS and the al-Nusrah Front, both designated by the United States as foreign terrorist organizations at the time of the alleged conduct. If convicted, he faces up to 35 years in prison. The alleged conduct dates back more than a decade. According to prosecutors, Ansariy led a group based primarily in Brooklyn whose members either planned to travel to Syria to join ISIS or the al-Nusrah Front or helped finance such trips. Participants referred to the group as “chayxona,” an Uzbek word meaning “tea house” or “tea party.” Prosecutors allege that money collected through the network was used to pay for the travel of aspiring fighters to Syria and to support families left behind by those who traveled there, as well as the families of those killed while fighting. According to prosecutors, these collections helped finance the travel of at least three people to Syria in 2013. All three are believed to have been killed there. Investigators also link the network to Akhror Saidakhmetov, who was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport on February 25, 2015, while attempting to board a flight to Istanbul. According to court filings, the “chayxona” collections raised money for Saidakhmetov’s planned journey. He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Ansariy left the United States for Turkey in May 2016, buying a one-way ticket the day before his departure. He left five days after one of his alleged co-conspirators was arrested on May 11 and did not return to the United States until his extradition this month. A federal grand jury in Brooklyn indicted Ansariy in November 2021. Georgian authorities arrested him after he traveled from Uzbekistan to Tbilisi in August 2026. Ansariy pleaded not guilty on September 24 and was held without bail, the New York Post reported.

Rule of Law

Uzbekistan Strikes Down Ten-Day Border Detention Without Court Approval

Uzbekistan’s Constitutional Court has struck down provisions allowing people accused of breaking border rules to be held for up to ten days without a judge’s approval. The decision followed complaints about detention beyond the constitution’s 48-hour limit. The court adopted its ruling on September 22. It took effect on September 25, removing the legal basis for extended detention periods. The case reached the court through parliamentary ombudsman Feruza Eshmatova. Her office received six complaints in 2025–2026 concerning alleged unlawful administrative detention lasting more than 48 hours, according to the court’s account of the case. The challenged provisions were part of Article 288 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility. They covered violations of border regulations and rules at state border checkpoints. Officials could hold a person for up to three hours to prepare a report. If they needed to establish the person’s identity or clarify the circumstances, they could extend detention to three days, though they had to notify a prosecutor in writing within 24 hours. For someone without identity documents, a prosecutor could authorize detention for up to ten days. Neither extension required officials to seek a court order. The ombudsman challenged those powers under Article 27 of the Constitution, which bars detention beyond 48 hours without a judicial decision. The court agreed that the longer periods breached that guarantee. It also identified a gap in the code: the provisions contained no mechanism for obtaining judicial approval when officials wanted to hold someone longer. Notification or authorization by a prosecutor “must not replace a court decision,” the court said in its published account of the ruling. The decision concerns how long the authorities can hold someone without judicial oversight. It does not abolish border offenses or prevent detention beyond 48 hours when a court authorizes it. According to Gazeta, the ruling is final and cannot be appealed. The body responsible for the legislation has one month to bring it into line with the constitution. The court did not prescribe the replacement wording. The ombudsman’s office has also reported unlawful detention elsewhere this month. In a separate case in Nukus district, monitors found three people held without sufficient grounds at a medical facility for intoxicated people. None of the three was intoxicated. Police inspectors had taken them there while awaiting a court decision on placement in a special reception facility. Following the ombudsman’s intervention, one inspector received a disciplinary sanction. The cases of two others were referred for disciplinary consideration, and the materials were sent to the district prosecutor for a preliminary inquiry.

Child Protection

Uzbekistan Kindergarten Case Over Alleged Assault Prompts Calls for Tougher Penalties

Authorities in Uzbekistan are investigating the alleged sexual assault of a five-year-old girl at a state kindergarten in the Namangan region. The suspect has been detained, while the case has prompted a wider debate over tougher penalties for sexual crimes against children. The alleged assault occurred at a kindergarten in Uchkurgan district. Police opened a criminal case on September 12 under two provisions of the Criminal Code, one covering the rape of a child under 14 and the other covering a threat to kill or use violence. The suspect, identified as K.M., worked as the kindergarten’s head of maintenance and was detained the same day. A court later ordered him held in custody. The Children’s Ombudsman requested a safety review from the Ministry of Preschool and School Education, prompting checks on staff at state kindergartens across the country. On September 27, Saida Mirziyoyeva, head of the Presidential Administration, said the death penalty should apply to such crimes. Capital punishment is prohibited under Article 25 of Uzbekistan’s Constitution, meaning its restoration would require a constitutional amendment. “In my view, the death penalty should indeed be applied for such brutal crimes. Unfortunately, the current law does not provide for the highest form of punishment,” Mirziyoyeva wrote. She said proposals were being prepared to amend legislation to make penalties for such crimes as severe as possible. The Children’s Ombudsman has proposed life imprisonment for serious sexual crimes against children, including rape, in a special report submitted to parliament. The ombudsman cited Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, where life sentences are available for certain sexual offenses against children. Kazakhstan introduced the penalty for some such crimes, while Kyrgyzstan’s Criminal Code allows it for the rape of a child under 14. Human rights activist Abdurakhmon Tashanov, head of the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan Ezgulik, cautioned against interpreting Mirziyoyeva’s remarks as the beginning of a campaign to restore capital punishment. “Those who interpret Saida Mirziyoyeva’s words as a proposal to restore the death penalty in Uzbekistan are somewhat mistaken. The death penalty will not be reinstated,” he wrote. Tashanov nevertheless supported tougher punishment for sexual crimes against children and called for parliament to consider additional measures, including castration. The National Agency for Social Protection is providing assistance to the girl and her mother. Shakhnoza Mirziyoyeva, the agency’s first deputy director, said psychologists and other specialists have been working with the family. The agency will arrange for the family to move to another city and receive housing, rehabilitation, and social support. It will assist the girl’s mother with education and employment and, if necessary, with changing the family’s surname. The investigation is continuing, and authorities have urged the public not to circulate unverified information or details that could reveal the child’s identity.

Military Deaths

Deaths During Caspian Military Drills: Kazakhstan Investigates Commanders’ Actions

Fourteen servicemen in Kazakhstan’s Armed Forces were killed during military exercises on the Caspian Sea on September 24, and five Armed Forces officials were detained. On the same evening, around 100 relatives and Aktau residents gathered outside the city morgue as a serviceman read out the names of the dead. People demanded the chance to identify the bodies, and screams and crying could be heard after some names. September 25 was declared a day of national mourning in Kazakhstan. The Ministry of Defense later reported that 17 had been swept into the sea; three were rescued, one of whom was hospitalized, and 14 died. A criminal case was opened under provisions covering negligence in the performance of military duties resulting in serious consequences and violations of navigation rules. The Khazar Qorgany 2026 exercises began on September 22 in Kazakhstan’s sector of the Caspian Sea. More than 500 military personnel took part, along with ships and boats from the Naval Forces, hydrographic vessels, Coast Guard units of the National Security Committee’s Border Service, and Air Defense Forces aircraft. Relatives of one serviceman said that officials from the akimat, the local executive authority, the police, and the military enlistment office came to the family’s home to tell them their son had died. Members of other families said that some of the conscripts were about a week away from completing their military service. Based on the published birth dates of 12 servicemen on the Ministry of Defense’s initial list, they were between 19 and 23 years old; nine were born in 2006 or 2007. Among those killed was 20-year-old sailor Serzhan Ayapbergen from the Mangystau region. Before joining the military, he competed in sambo and judo, won silver at the Kazakhstan championship and the Commonwealth of Independent States Games in sambo, won judo competitions, and earned the title of Candidate for Master of Sport. Deaths among military personnel in peacetime have been debated in Kazakhstan for years. In April 2023, First Deputy Chief Military Prosecutor Maksat Kaziyev said that 270 servicemen had died since the beginning of 2020: 78 in 2020, 96 in 2021, 85 in 2022, and another 11 in the first months of 2023. According to prosecutors, 36% of the deaths were related to illness, 24% to road accidents, and 20% to suicide. Between 2018 and 2022, 86 suicides and 20 attempted suicides were recorded among military personnel. These figures cover career military personnel, contract soldiers, and conscripts, and include different causes of death. They do not show how many people died specifically while performing military duties. The deaths of conscripts, young men performing compulsory military service, are particularly sensitive in Kazakhstan. [caption id="attachment_57024" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Detention of the suspected commander / Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan[/caption] In November 2025, journalists questioned Defense Minister Dauren Kosanov about deaths among servicemen, hazing in Kazakhstan’s armed forces, and violence in military units. After a reporter said that news of serious incidents appeared almost every month, Kosanov responded with apparent...

Caspian Sea

At Least Nine Kazakh Servicemen Killed During Caspian Sea Exercises

At least nine Kazakh servicemen have died during naval exercises in the Caspian Sea on September 24, Kazakhstan’s Defense Ministry said. Search operations continued after strong winds carried military personnel out to sea in the western Mangistau region. The ministry’s initial statement said 19 servicemen had been swept away following a sudden deterioration in weather conditions. Three were rescued, including one who was hospitalized. The ministry confirmed nine deaths and said rescuers were searching for the others. A subsequent report by Ulysmedia said its correspondent at the scene had reported the recovery of 12 bodies. That figure had not been officially confirmed. The report said divers were searching underwater while two helicopters assisted from above. The Prosecutor General’s Office announced a criminal investigation into the deaths, with an investigative team formed to establish the circumstances of the incident. Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov also established a government commission, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev. Bektenov instructed him to travel immediately to the scene, oversee a comprehensive investigation, and arrange assistance for the bereaved families. The Defense Ministry separately dispatched a commission led by Defense Minister Dauren Kosanov. Naval units and emergency services joined the search, with aviation support. The ministry said the families of those killed would receive assistance. Two days earlier, the ministry had announced the start of the Khazar Korgany-2026 exercises in Kazakhstan’s sector of the Caspian Sea. More than 500 personnel were involved, alongside naval vessels and coastal units. However, the ministry’s initial account of the deaths did not identify the exercise by name. The deaths come amid continuing concern over peacetime fatalities in Kazakhstan’s armed forces. The circumstances of the Caspian incident remain under investigation, including how the servicemen became stranded in the water. By order of the Head of State, a day of national mourning has been declared for September 25, 2026.

Public Spaces

Kazakhstan Proposes Fines for Unauthorized Graffiti

Kazakhstan is preparing to introduce fines for unauthorized graffiti on public buildings and structures. The Interior Ministry has proposed enshrining a ban in law following a campaign against vandalism and drug-related graffiti. Interior Minister Yerzhan Sadenov presented the proposals on September 21 at a government meeting. Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov instructed the Interior Ministry to prepare amendments aimed at “establishing a complete ban on all types of graffiti that damage public places.” A significant part of the police’s current work involves drug-related graffiti: inscriptions advertising drugs and providing sellers’ contact details. According to the Interior Ministry, police and volunteers have removed around 80,000 such inscriptions and drawings. Authorities have opened 81 criminal cases over drug promotion and advertising, with 19 people convicted. Through the digital service “No to Drugs,” citizens have reported another 150 violations to the police. The Interior Ministry’s proposal, however, goes beyond drug-related graffiti. Sadenov spoke about inscriptions and drawings on public buildings and structures in general. The government used the wording graffiti that “damage public places.” How “damage” is defined in the amendments could determine how authorized street art is treated. In Almaty, Astana, and other cities, murals have long been used to decorate building facades and public spaces. The government materials published so far contain no proposal to prohibit such works. Elsewhere, legislation generally links liability not to graffiti as an art form, but to a lack of authorization and damage to property. In Germany, criminal liability applies, among other things, to unauthorized alterations that substantially and permanently change the appearance of public monuments and works of art. One of the stricter regimes is in Singapore, where the Vandalism Act includes a maximum fine of up to S$2,000 or up to three years in prison. For certain offenses, the law also provides for caning. Kazakhstan’s approach will become clearer once the amendments are published. For now, the Interior Ministry has proposed administrative liability rather than a separate criminal offense for graffiti. The government is also preparing a National Cleanliness Standard. It is expected to include requirements covering the maintenance and landscaping of populated areas, the upkeep of natural areas, environmental education, and volunteer activities. Urban development regulations are also changing. The new Construction Code established the design code as a tool for shaping the appearance of cities and other populated areas. Specialized urban planning organizations have been established in all regions, while regional authorities have approved road maps for urban development for 2026-2027.