A case has been opened in Surkhandarya against a man who performed a marriage ceremony for a 15-year-old schoolgirl

A criminal case has been initiated in Surkhandarya region against a citizen who agreed to perform a marriage ceremony between a minor girl and a 28-year-old man, the Children’s Ombudsman’s press service reports.

Law enforcement investigated the details of the incident that occurred on July 8, 2025, in the Ozod neighborhood of Denov district. In particular, law enforcement officers discovered that a 68-year-old local resident organized a wedding ceremony for her 15-year-old granddaughter. The groom turned out to be a 28-year-old man.

At that time, mahalla representatives, together with social workers, conducted an investigation into the attempted marriage of a minor schoolgirl and issued an official warning to the family. However, on August 10th, it was revealed that the marriage had taken place. Since the girl was a minor, it was not possible to officially register the marriage, however, the 75-year-old citizen agreed to conduct a religious wedding ceremony for the family for a material reward.

As a result, law enforcement officers initiated a criminal case against the man under Article 125-1 (Violation of the legislation on marriageable age or the procedure for concluding a marriage), and against the girl’s spouse under Article 128 (Intention in sexual relations with a person under the age of sixteen). Currently, investigative actions are underway.

Earlier, it was reported that a school teacher in Tashkent wanted to marry a minor student. The man sent matchmakers to the girl and, seeing her with a friend on the street, took her phone and put her in the car.