Former official punished for cutting down over 200 trees in Surkhandarya
Strict measures are being taken in our country to ensure ecological stability, preserve green spaces, and uphold the rule of law against those who harm Mother Nature. As a continuation of these efforts, the appellate panel of the Surkhandarya Regional Court for Criminal Cases thoroughly reviewed a high-profile criminal case involving the illegal felling of trees, which had attracted significant public attention.
A hidden plan behind a 20 million contract
According to official case files, the criminal act was orchestrated by the former head of the Termez City Construction Department and the director of a limited liability company (LLC). These accomplices conspired to cut down numerous trees flourishing in the 'Dustlik' neighborhood, a central part of Termez, under the pretext of relocating them. To give this a veneer of legality, they initially drafted a 20 million sum fake and deceptive contract.
However, their plan was destined to fail. The green assets in this area had already been fully inventoried by the regional Department of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change, and the National Guard. The entrepreneurs' official request to relocate or cut down these valuable and rare trees was strictly rejected by specialists and in accordance with current legislation.
Nature destroyers: 217 trees wiped out
Despite the legal ban and rejection, those seeking quick profits and wanting to start construction immediately chose a path of arbitrariness and brutality. To expand the construction site, they ruthlessly chopped down and destroyed 217 rare and ornamental trees under the cover of night.
The exact list of the destroyed trees is as follows:
61 tall 'Eldar pines';
36 lush 'Virgin junipers';
101 fragrant 'Oriental arborvitae';
16 magnificent plane trees, and 4 fruit-bearing mulberry trees.
According to experts and special ecological laboratory findings, it was officially proven that these shameful and criminal actions by the nature destroyers caused immense and irreparable material damage to the region's ecology and environment, totaling 2 billion 69 million 437 thousand 500 sums. The damage is to be recovered from the perpetrators.
'I just wanted to help' — The law prevailed
During the trial and appeal, the former head of the construction department attempted to deny his guilt. He claimed he thought there was official permission to cut the trees and tried to justify himself by saying he was merely providing 'impartial assistance' to the construction firm as a local official.
However, the appellate court rejected these false arguments. After a thorough analysis of the evidence, witness testimonies, and the final conclusions of an independent forensic ecological examination, the court found the former official guilty under Article 198, Part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Damage, destruction).
According to the final court verdict, the defendant was sentenced to 2 years of correctional labor with a 20% deduction of his monthly salary to the state. His time spent in preliminary detention was taken into account, setting the final term to 1 year, 5 months, and 15 days. The billions in damages caused to nature must also be recovered from the guilty parties. This case should serve as a serious lesson for other officials and entrepreneurs.
Do you think the punishment given to officials who caused such massive damage to nature and destroyed trees that grew for hundreds of years is sufficient, or should legislation be further strengthened?
