Two brothers kill their sibling over gambling addiction in Samarkand

In the city of Samarkand, two brothers who tied their gambling-addicted younger brother to a tree, brutally beat him, and caused his death have been sentenced. The information was reported by Aziz Obidov, spokesperson for the Supreme Court.

According to the report, the incident occurred on June 20, 2025. The 29-year-old man had become addicted to online gambling and betting games. In an attempt to discipline him, his brothers tied him to a tree and repeatedly beat him with electric cables. As a result of the severe injuries, the younger brother died shortly after being taken home.

’’Our daughter and I lived together with them. They never caused harm to anyone, though they sometimes played gambling games. He had taken out a loan but was repaying it himself. My brother-in-law said he did it ‘so that he would pay off his debt.’ But about 10–15 days before the incident, my husband had already paid nearly 7 million soums toward the loan. We had lived together for one year and eight months. He worked as a welder, making metal gates. I still don’t understand what could have happened between them that led to such a brutal act, tying him up and beating him like that,’’ the victim’s wife said. 

At the time of the incident, the victim’s parents were in Russia. They participated in the trial both as victims and plaintiffs. The Samarkand city criminal court has announced the verdict against the defendants.

According to the verdict, the victim’s elder brother was sentenced under Article 138, part 2, paragraph ’’a’’ (Unlawful deprivation of liberty using violence) to 4 years of imprisonment, and under Article 104, part 3, paragraph ’’d’’ (Intentional infliction of serious bodily harm) to 8 years of imprisonment. In accordance with Article 59, part 2 of the Criminal Code (Imposition of punishment for multiple crimes), by partially combining the sentences, he was given a final sentence of 8 years and 6 months in prison. The younger brother, who was found guilty of causing the victim’s death, was sentenced to 6 years and 6 months of imprisonment.

It is worth noting that earlier, three brothers had beaten a 17-year-old teenager in the city of Samarkand.