Arbitrary Police Brutality Against Farmers is not Compatible with a Sustainable Cotton Sector

Azizjon Tojiboev and Gairatjon Khairullaev, successful and hardworking farmers from Rishton district of Fergana region, became victims of senseless and illegal arbitrary violence at the hands of local police officers.

“I’ll kill you”

On July 7, 2025, four police officers, including one in civilian clothing, came to the home of farmer Gairatjon Khairullaev and ordered him to go immediately to a meeting with the district police chief, Shavkat Mavlonov.

The police officers did not provide a written summons and refused to explain the reason for the meeting. When the farmer, exhausted after a day’s work, asked them to wait, they forced their way into his house. One officer pulled out his pistol, pointed it at Khairullaev, and shouted, “I’ll kill you!”

“That day, around 8 p.m., I had just returned from the field with my family after defoliating cotton. Four men broke into our house. One of them had a pistol in his hand. I asked, ‘What’s going on?’ The officer came up to me and, without explanation, pointed the gun at me. My mother, who saw everything, screamed and then fainted from fear. The police tried to drag me to the station by force. Seeing my mother unconscious, I immediately called