A resident of Khorezm Region, Sakhiba Ruzimova (born 1982), was sentenced to 6 years and 2 months in prison on a combination of charges of fraud, human trafficking, and running a brothel. According to the case materials set out in a publication by Nemolchi.Uz, the victim, K. (born 2009), left home in February 2025 after a conflict with relatives, and in April–May 2025, by her testimony, was subjected to sexual exploitation and threats.

According to the case file, on April 11, 2025, Ruzimova contacted K. on Telegram and offered her housing and a job at a bakery. Then, as the victim claims, Ruzimova began forcing her into sexual exploitation, threatening retaliation and referring to connections within the internal affairs bodies.

According to K., from mid-April to early May 2025 she was systematically handed over to men for money, which Ruzimova received. The amounts stated in the testimony ranged from 200,000 to 1,000,000 soums. The girl herself, it is claimed, was not given any money.

The court sentenced Ruzimova to 6 years and 2 months of imprisonment by combining the sentences:

• Article 168 part 4 (a) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Fraud on an especially large scale) — 6 years 1 month of imprisonment
• Article 135 part 3 (a) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Human trafficking, previous version of the article) — 6 years of imprisonment (the sanction provided for 8–12 years of imprisonment).
• Article 131 part 4 (b) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Pimping and running a brothel) — 5 years of imprisonment.

As mitigating circumstances, the court took into account, among other things, that she is the sole breadwinner of the family and has two minor children.

Nine men named by the victim were brought in as suspects in summer 2025 under part 1 of Article 128 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan. However, on September 2, 2025, the case against three was closed “due to the absence of elements of a crime” (Article 83 of the Criminal Procedure Code), and for the other six the proceedings were завершили without resolving the issue of guilt (clause 2, part 5, Article 84 of the Criminal Procedure Code).