The claim that children are the future of any state has been shattered by the harsh realities of the Mirziyoyev regime.

The Mass Death of Children in Uzbekistan

In the past two months, according to official statistics, 19 children between the ages of two months and six years have died in various regions of the country after taking the Indian cold medicine “Dok-1 Max.” However, unconfirmed reports suggest that the number of deceased children may be significantly higher.

In an attempt to conceal the cause of these deaths, Uzbek officials expedited the burial of the children’s bodies without conducting prior pathological examinations.

The kleptocratic Mirziyoyev regime has created a favorable environment for criminals and fraudsters of all kinds, who have flocked to Uzbekistan from all corners of the world. The pervasive corruption and greed among Mirziyoyev’s officials at all levels of the “power vertical” allow unscrupulous businessmen to sell low-grade and substandard products in the country.

The Suppliers of the Deadly Syrup

The Indian pharmaceutical company “Marion Biotech Pvt. Ltd” supplied “Dok-1 Max” to the Uzbek market through the company “Quramax Medikal LLC,” whose office is located at 32 Oybek Street in Tashkent, and whose director is Raghwendra Pratap Singh.

The sole founder of “Quramax Medikal LLC” is “Quramax Ltd.,” a company registered in the United Kingdom at Artisans House, 7 Queensbridge, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN4 7BF.

The pharmaceutical company “Marion Biotech Pvt. Ltd,” with a charter capital of $300,000, was established in May 1999 and is currently managed by Jaya Jain and Sachin Jain, who also serve as directors of 23 other Indian companies. Rather than providing an official explanation for the situation, the producers and sellers of the deadly syrup have shut down their websites.

It is worth noting that Marion Biotech does not sell the “Dok-1 Max” cough syrup in India, but exports it exclusively to Uzbekistan. In Uzbekistan, the medicine is freely sold in pharmacies and can be purchased without a doctor’s prescription.

Due to the lack of proper accountability for producing substandard medications in India, which affects the quality of the products, many countries have banned the import of Indian-made pharmaceuticals. The maximum penalty for Indian manufacturers who violate regulations may be a fine of $242 and a possible prison term of up to two years, provided that a causal link between the substandard drug and a fatal outcome cannot be established.

For this reason, corrupt Uzbek officials hastened the burial of deceased children without conducting pathological examinations. The primary reason that the substandard drug “Dok-1 Max” entered the Uzbek market is the pervasive corruption within the state institutions under the Mirziyoyev regime.

The Ministry of Health Avoids Responsibility

In light of the increasing number of child deaths linked to the use of “Dok-1 Max” syrup, on December 27, 2022, the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan issued a press release in which officials placed the blame on the parents. The Ministry of Health of Uzbekistan noted that the victims had purchased the medicine without a doctor’s prescription and attributed the children’s deaths to an overdose of “Dok-1 Max” syrup. However, the website of the seller, “Quramax Medikal LLC” (which was not operational at the time of publication), stated that the cold medicine “Dok-1 Max” is an over-the-counter drug.

There is also a question as to how Ministry of Health officials determined that the deceased children had taken an excessive dose of the medicine when they were buried without any pathological examinations.

On December 27, the Minister of Health of Uzbekistan, Behzod Musayev, stated in a video message that all those responsible for the deaths of the children would be held accountable. Instead of resigning in light of these tragic events, Musayev first dismissed the chief physician of the Samarkand Regional Children’s Multidisciplinary Medical Center, Professor Mamatkul Azizov. It should be noted that it was Professor Azizov who first sounded the alarm, thereby drawing public attention to the tragedy, which Ministry of Health officials had been attempting to suppress.

Currently, the State Security Service of Uzbekistan has opened a criminal case regarding the deaths of children following their consumption of “Dok-1 Max.”

A Minister with a Criminal Past

Tragedies of this kind could have been avoided if the Mirziyoyev regime had not brought corrupt, short-sighted individuals with extensive criminal backgrounds into government service. Just as criminal charges were once brought against the current Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, Abdulla Aripov, Behzod Musayev was also prosecuted under six articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Specifically, he was charged with Article 167, Part 3, Paragraph “a” (Embezzlement or misappropriation on an especially large scale); Article 175, Part 2, Paragraph “a” (Conclusion of a deal contrary to the interests of the Republic of Uzbekistan, committed repeatedly); Article 178, Part 3 (Concealment of foreign currency, committed by an organized group or in its interests); Article 179 (False entrepreneurship); Article 184, Part 3 (Evasion of taxes or other mandatory payments on an especially large scale); and Article 205, Part 2, Paragraph “a” (Abuse of power or official authority).

Musayev was on the wanted list and managed to return to Uzbekistan after the death of former President Islam Karimov. At the order of Shavkat Mirziyoyev, all criminal charges against Abdulla Aripov, Behzod Musayev, and other major corruption figures were dropped, and they were reinstated in their positions.

On March 12, 2018, Mirziyoyev appointed Musayev as the First Deputy Chairman of the State Tax Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and in May of the same year, as Chairman of the Committee. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when Uzbekistan began receiving substantial international aid, on May 14, 2020, Mirziyoyev appointed Behzod Musayev as Deputy Prime Minister for Social Development, while he simultaneously served as the acting head of the Ministry of Health of Uzbekistan. On November 11, 2021, Musayev was appointed Minister of Health of Uzbekistan.

During the COVID-19 crisis, the Mirziyoyev regime channeled $8-10 billion through the healthcare system, most of which was stolen through fraudulent schemes. The direct executor of these thefts was Minister Musayev.

Therefore, it would be naive to believe that the State Security Service of Uzbekistan will be able to hold Behzod Musayev criminally accountable for the deaths of innocent children. The evidence supporting our claims lies in the recent appointment of the Minister of Health to a new position. On December 30, 2022, Shavkat Mirziyoyev approved the new composition of the government and ministers, in which Behzod Musayev is listed as the Minister of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

As for Uzbek children and their future, Shavkat Mirziyoyev does not seem to care, as his primary goal is the degradation of the Uzbek people, the destruction of their national consciousness, and their national identity.