Officials comment on compensation for victims of the Yunusabad tragedy

SBK Universal Construction Group LLC said in a statement that the one-time compensation had been paid in full and that the monthly allowances for those who had lost their breadwinners were being paid at the time agreed with the family members.

A spokesman for the company said the 100 million soums paid earlier to the family members of the deceased were later considered as part of the compensation determined by the Commission set up by the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations, thus fulfilling the company’s one-time payment obligations. He added that the monthly pension payments to those who have lost their breadwinners are also being made once every 3-4 months with their consent, that is, in larger amounts.

The company spokesman said they have filed an application to appeal against the court’s decision regarding the missed deadline on paying the compensation fee. The company is dissatisfied with the court’s decision obliging them to pay 100 million soums in compensation, and also intends to reduce the amount of fee (300 million soums) to be paid for moral damage.

Abduvakhid Sharopov, deputy head of the State Labor Inspectorate at the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations, did not give a clear answer to whom should actually be paid 100 million soums. The ministerial official said he could not comment on the matter on which the court’s decision had been made, and that the court would make a final decision on the matter.

Uzbekistan Railways JSC also commented on the situation.

“By the decision of a special commission, the society paid a lump sum in the amount of 281 million 670 thousand 972 soums to the family of Zarif Karimov, one of the victims of the tragedy. In addition, taking into account his years of service in the system, the family was paid an additional 100 million soums,” the spokesman for Uzbekistan Railways said.

As you can see, one of the victims of the subway construction was an employee of Uzbekistan Railways JSC and his relatives were paid 100 million soums after the accident, and then 281 million soums as a lump sum.

However, SBK Universal Construction Group LLC said that it had paid 261 million soums to the families of the other five employees of the deceased and the initial 100 million soums should also be calculated from this compensation.

Another party in the case, the Tashkent city prosecutor’s office, closed the case on March 18, 2020, on the grounds that the damage caused to the families of the victims had been “fully compensated”. However, it is clear from the bills issued by SBK Universal Construction Group that the damage was reimbursed not in March, but 5 months after the investigation was completed.

The prosecutor’s office prefers to remain silent on the facts of this part of the case.

Thus, the two main issues raised in the article remain unanswered. In particular, the 100 million soums received by the relatives of the late Anvar Diyorov and Zarif Karimov were not included in the one-time compensation. But the issue of the rest deceased remains controversial, even though their relatives are not suing (because they are unaware that they can sue).

The fact that the prosecutor’s office closed the criminal case without fully compensating the victims also casts doubt on the impartiality and transparency of the investigation.

It should be recalled that on December 18, 2019, an accident occurred in the construction of the Yunusabad line in the Tashkent metro, killing six workers. The criminal case against the causers of the fatal incident was dismissed on March 18, 2020, noting that “the damage caused to the victims was fully compensated”.

Kun.uz investigated the case and found that the victims had not been fully reimbursed at the time the criminal case was closed.