Husband or son detained in Uzbekistan: what to do in the first hours

If your husband, son or another relative has been detained in Uzbekistan, the police can hold him without a court decision for no more than 48 hours, and the family must be told that he has been detained and where he is being held. A lawyer may see him straight away, from the moment of actual detention, and must be allowed a private meeting with him before the first interrogation. Below is what to do in the first hours, what the detained person should not sign, and what you can hand over to him.

How long can a person be held after detention?

Detention is a short deprivation of liberty of a person suspected of a crime. Under Article 226 of the Criminal Procedure Code, it may last no longer than 48 hours. The clock starts not when the report is drawn up, but at the moment of actual detention — when the person was in fact no longer free to leave. At the investigator's request, a court may extend detention by another 48 hours.

Within that time the law requires the authorities to:

• draw up a detention report immediately after the person is brought to the police station, stating where, when, by whom and on what grounds he was detained;
• notify the prosecutor in writing within 12 hours of arrival at the station;
• check whether the detention is justified within 24 hours;
• interrogate the detained person no later than 24 hours after arrival.

When the detention period ends, the person is either released or charged, and a decision is taken on a preventive measure. Only a court can order pre-trial custody or house arrest. Time spent in detention is later counted towards custody and towards any sentence.

Example. Say your son was stopped in the street at 18:00 and brought to the station at 20:00. The 48 hours run from 18:00, so they expire at 18:00 two days later. If there is no court decision by then, he must be released.

How do you find out where the person is?

The investigator or inquiry officer must notify a family member without delay of the detention and of the place where the person is held, and must also inform his place of work or study (Article 217 of the Code). If a foreign national is detained, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan is notified. The detained person also has the right to make a phone call or send a message to a lawyer or a close relative — this is written directly into Articles 48 and 224 of the Code.

Detained persons are held in the premises of the internal affairs department or another law enforcement body, or in a temporary detention facility. If nobody has called you:

1. Call the person himself and any acquaintances who may have been with him. Find out where and when it happened and who carried out the detention.
2. Contact the duty unit of the district internal affairs department — where he was detained or where he lives.
3. If you still have no information, write to the district prosecutor. The prosecutor supervises the lawfulness of detention: he may visit places of detention at any time and immediately release anyone held unlawfully (Article 31 of the Law on the Prosecutor's Office). The Prosecutor General's Office also takes calls on the short number 1007.

When and how to bring in a lawyer

Defence counsel is admitted to the case from the moment the person's freedom of movement is actually restricted (Article 49 of the Code). Relatives can hire a lawyer too, at the request or with the consent of the detained person (Article 50). Before the first interrogation, the detained person must be given a private meeting with his lawyer, and a record of it is made.

What is worth knowing:

• A lawyer is admitted to the client on presentation of his licence and a warrant (order) for the case. Under the Law on the Bar, he meets the client in private, with no limit on the number or length of meetings and without permission from the investigator.
• If the chosen lawyer cannot arrive within 24 hours, the investigator will suggest inviting another one. The chosen lawyer may still join the case at any time.
• If there is no private lawyer, the investigator must provide state-funded counsel, appointed through the «Legal Aid» information system.
• A defence lawyer must take part when a court decides on custody or house arrest.
• A person can waive the right to a lawyer only on his own initiative and only after a private meeting with a lawyer; the waiver is video-recorded (Article 52). If the detained person is being "offered" a waiver to sign, treat that as a warning sign.

What rights does a detained person have?

Under Article 48 of the Code, a suspect has the right to:

• know what he is suspected of;
• make a phone call or send a message to a lawyer or close relative about the detention and his whereabouts;
• have a lawyer and meet him in private;
• demand to be questioned no later than 24 hours after detention;
• give a statement or refuse to do so — and be told that anything he says may be used against him;
• speak his native language and use an interpreter;
• file motions and complaints about the actions of the investigator and prosecutor.

A suspect is not obliged to testify or to prove his innocence. As a general rule, the detention itself, the explanation of rights and the personal search are video-recorded. If this could not be done on the spot, the rights must be explained on video once the person is at the station.

What should a detained person not sign or say?

The first hours are the most stressful, and that is exactly when people sign things they later regret. Pass a few simple rules to your relative through his lawyer:

• Do not give a statement before meeting a lawyer. Refusing to testify is a legal right, not a sign of guilt.
• Read every record in full. Each page is signed. Anything you disagree with can be added to the record as a remark (Article 92).
• Do not sign if it is written incorrectly. If you refuse to sign, the investigator notes this, and you may explain why — your explanation also goes into the record (Article 93).
• Do not sign blank forms or texts "in your own words" that you have not read.
• Do not sign a waiver of counsel unless you actually want to.

A confession alone cannot be the basis of a charge: it must be supported by other evidence (Article 112). So "confess and we will let you go" guarantees nothing except a line in the record. And do not hand money to anyone to "sort things out": it will not speed up release and may lead to a new criminal case.

Can you visit, and what can you hand over?

A visit by relatives during detention is possible only with the written permission of the investigator or inquiry officer handling the materials (Article 230 of the Code). Under Article 22 of the Law on Custody in Criminal Proceedings, a detained person may be granted one visit of up to two hours. Bring your passport and the written permission; no other documents may be demanded.

Handing over items is allowed (Article 28 of the same Law):

• during detention — one parcel or small package and two food deliveries with a total weight of up to 12 kg;
• medicines prescribed in writing by a doctor — no limit on quantity;
• for pregnant women, minors, sick persons and people with Group I–II disabilities, the number and weight of deliveries are not limited.

Dangerous items and anything banned by the facility's rules cannot be handed over. Check the list of permitted items with the temporary detention facility itself.

If the detained person has children, elderly parents or a home left without care, the investigator must place the dependants in the care of relatives or other persons and take steps to protect the property (Article 218). Tell the investigator about this straight away.

What relatives should do, step by step

1. Write down everything you know: time, place, who carried out the detention, car number, witnesses.
2. Find out which police department or temporary detention facility the person is in.
3. Find a lawyer and give him the person's full name, date of birth and everything you know about what happened.
4. Collect documents about the person: a reference from work, character references, medical certificates, children's birth certificates. Age, health, family situation and occupation are taken into account when choosing a preventive measure (Article 238), so these papers can help.
5. If a court orders custody, the decision can be appealed within 72 hours. An investigator's decision on a preventive measure is appealed to the prosecutor, who must consider the complaint within three days (Article 241).
6. Do not discuss details of the case on social media or messengers: anything you write may end up in the case file.

When going without a lawyer is risky

A lot is decided in the first 48 hours: what goes into the first record, whether the investigator will ask for custody and what the court will hear. State-funded counsel is a real guarantee, not a formality, but he is appointed through an information system, the law gives him at least four hours to join the case, and he does not always have time to understand the situation before the interrogation. A lawyer you choose can act earlier: meet the client in private before questioning, check the deadlines and grounds for detention, and prepare documents about family and health for the hearing.

It is especially risky to go without counsel if the accusation is serious, if the person is being pressured or talked into waiving a lawyer, or if the detained person is a minor or a foreign national. You can read more about how criminal defence works on our practice page.

In short

• Without a court decision, detention lasts no more than 48 hours from the moment of actual detention; a court may extend it by another 48 hours.
• The family must be told of the detention and the place of custody without delay; the detained person may call a lawyer or a relative.
• A lawyer is admitted from the moment of detention and meets the client in private before the first interrogation.
• Do not testify without a lawyer, read records in full, add remarks, and do not sign blank forms or a waiver of counsel.
• Visits only with the investigator's written permission; deliveries — two, up to 12 kg in total; medicines prescribed by a doctor are not limited.

Photo: Dickelbers, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)