Criminal case opened against the deputy district mayor who used force against an environmental inspector

Earlier, it was reported that in Fergana region’s Buvayda district, the deputy district mayor Saidalı Khizirov used force against Ahrorjon Niyazov, an inspector of the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, and, with the help of law enforcement officers, took him to the district police department. It was later reported that Khizirov had been dismissed from his position. The Prosecutor General’s Office has now announced that a criminal case has been initiated against him.

According to the statement, the Fergana regional prosecutor’s office examined the incident with the involvement of relevant agencies.

The investigation found that on 25 November, Saidalı Khizirov, the deputy head of Buvayda district responsible for construction, inclusive infrastructure, communications, public utilities, ecology, and landscaping, exceeded his official powers. After learning that an employee of the company D.S. LLC was cutting trees near the Naiman canal in the district’s Naiman neighborhood, he actively resisted the lawful demands of the inspector from the Buvayda district branch of the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, who had arrived to stop the illegal activity. Khizirov also forced the inspector to abandon his duties, removed him from the scene, and caused significant harm to state and public interests.

Following the incident, a criminal case has been opened against Khizirov and others under Article 206, Part 1 (exceeding official powers), Article 219, Part 2 (resisting an authority representative or a person performing civic duty), and Article 198, Part 2 (damaging or destroying crops, forests, trees, or other vegetation) of the Criminal Code. Investigative procedures are underway, and the case is under the personal supervision of the Prosecutor General.

According to Rasul Kusherbayev, adviser to the chairman of the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, the inspector responded promptly to a citizen’s complaint, arrived at the scene, identified the illegal tree-cutting, stopped it, and attempted to document the violation in accordance with procedures.

On 19 November this year, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree titled “On measures to create a management system capable of responding promptly to the needs of the population in the fields of ecology and tourism.” The decree states that employees of the regional and district (city) branches of the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change are not part of local executive authorities, operate independently, and report directly to the committee. Despite one week having passed since the decree and despite ecological issues being a national priority, some district mayors and their deputies continue to disregard environmental officials, use force against them, and obstruct their work. Either they have not read the decree signed by the President, or they simply do not care.

It is worth noting that Rasul Kusherbayev had earlier spoken about a similar incident. He revealed that last year, while measures were being taken against organizations polluting the environment in the capital, unknown individuals abducted the then–first deputy minister of ecology, environmental protection, and climate change.