ALMATY (Reuters) – Police in Uzbekistan dropped a criminal case on Monday against a young woman who beat up two men in response to verbal abuse, after a number of public figures including President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s daughter spoke out in her support.
Local websites showed a video of Gulsanam Alijonova, 23, who has trained in boxing, karate and taekwondo, in which she chased and beat two men aged 30 and 33.
The video, shot in June, was shared and discussed on social media this month, but on Sept. 8 the Interior Ministry said it had identified the woman and launched a criminal case against her for hooliganism.
The move prompted a public outcry as Alijonova told local news website Daryo that the conflict had started when one of the two men ridiculed her T-shirt and shorts outfit and went on to insult her when she rebuked him.
Alijonova said the man grabbed her T-shirt when she confronted him, at which point she started throwing punches, and his companion tried to intervene.
A number of bloggers and public figures, including Saida Mirziyoyeva, the influential elder daughter of the president, criticised the move to prosecute Alijonova, contrasting it with a lenient attitude shown in the former Soviet republic towards domestic violence committed by men against women.
On Monday, police in the Namangan province where the incident took place said in a statement they have dropped the case after the state agency for youth affairs and the local youth union vouched for Alijonova, citing her sports achievements, previously clean record and volunteer work.
(Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Gareth Jones)
