21:09 / 14.08.2025

In Samarkand, railway workers who committed an act of sabotage were imprisoned

In the Paxtachi district of the Samarkand region, railway workers who committed an act of sabotage against the high-speed train “Afrosiyob” were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment, the State Security Service reported.

According to the SSS, a resident of Navoi city, born in 1988, had been working as a foreman for railway barriers at the “Ziyovuddin Railway Distance” enterprise of the Bukhara regional railway junction under “Temiryo‘linfratuzilma”. In December 2023, after the elimination of the foreman position in the enterprise, he was transferred to the position of trackman and railway barrier guard.

However, the former foreman, being dissatisfied with this, in protest against the management, devised a criminal plan together with his colleague, born in 1992, who lives in Karmana district.

On the evening of January 14, 2025, they went to the 3872nd km section between the “Ziyovuddin” and “Navoi” railway stations in the Paxtachi district of the Samarkand region. Placing a reinforced concrete sleeper weighing 110 kg across the rails in the path of the “Afrosiyob” electric train, they fled the scene.

After about 15–20 minutes, the high-speed “Afrosiyob” train on the “Tashkent–Bukhara” route, traveling at a speed of 159 km/h and carrying 148 passengers in total, collided with the reinforced concrete sleeper. As a result, the train’s running gear sustained serious damage.

During operational-search activities conducted by the Navoi regional directorate of the SSS in cooperation with other law enforcement agencies, these individuals were detained, a criminal case was initiated against them under Article 161 (Sabotage) of the Criminal Code, and investigative actions were carried out.

The Criminal Court of Navbahor district found the offenders guilty of committing sabotage and sentenced one of them to 13 years and the other to 12 years of imprisonment.

In addition, since the act of sabotage caused damage to the “Afrosiyob” train amounting to 260 million soums, this amount was recovered to the state budget.