SENIOR POLICE OFFICIAL SENTENCED TO TEN YEARS FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000722 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN, G/TIP, INL, DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/06/2017 TAGS: PGOV KCRM KCOR KWMN UZ SUBJECT: SENIOR POLICE OFFICIAL SENTENCED TO TEN YEARS FOR TRAFFICKING-RELATED OFFENSE REF: TASHKENT 352 Classified By: AMB. JON R. PURNELL, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D). ¶1. (SBU) Summary: A Ministry of Internal Affairs Lieutenant Colonel has been sentenced to ten years in prison for seeking a bribe from a trafficking victim. The state-controlled press published a detailed account of his arrest. The official had threatened the victim with three years in prison and a fine for having left the country illegally, and proposed to close her case in return for a $500 bribe. The victim filed a complaint against the official with the National Security Service, which arrested him in a joint operation with the Prosecutor's Office. This conviction is an important step forward in the GOU's efforts to protect victims and combat trafficking. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Tashkent Airport-based Ministry of Internal Affairs Lieutenant Colonel Jaloliddin Khojiev has been convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison for soliciting a bribe from a victim of trafficking (reftel). A detailed account of Khojiev's conviction appeared in the February 28 issue of the state-controlled "Hurriyat" newspaper, and Post subsequently confirmed the information. The trafficking victim, Rosa Gabbasova, had been deceived into working as a commercial sex worker in the United Arab Emirates. Upon her return to Tashkent, airport border guards determined that she had illegally traveled abroad and forwarded her documents to the airport's Department of Internal Affairs Investigation Department. Rather than offer support to a victim of trafficking, Khojiev told Gabbasova that she faced three years' imprisonment and fines. Khojiev offered to close her case in return for a $500 bribe, noting that the only alternative would be to pass her case to the courts. ¶3. (C) Following the advice of one of her friends, Gabbasova filed a complaint about Khojiev with the National Security Service, which followed up by launching a joint operation with the Prosecutor's Office to arrest him. He was arrested on criminal corruption charges and sentenced to ten years in prison. Khojiev's wife, a nurse at a Tashkent clinic, confirmed the information to an Embassy employee. ¶4. (C) Comment: We welcome the government's actions in prosecuting Khojiev. Corruption remains a problem in law enforcement and across society more generally. Prosecuting Khojiev is an important step forward, and a sign of the government's commitment to protect victims of trafficking and combat trafficking in persons. It also likely reflects continuing rivalry between the National Security Service and Ministry of Internal Affairs, in which the former seeks to appear more professional and powerful. PURNELL