On February 17, the Tashkent Municipal Court finished the pleadings within the framework of the criminal case against Sunny Coalition Coordinator Nodira Khidoyatova charged with economic crimes.

Insisting that the defendant's guilt was established, the prosecution (Prosecutor G. Davletov) demanded 12 years behind the bars for Khidoyatova. The defense (O. Babenko) insisted that the guilt was not established at all and that the prosecution was resting its case on testimony of witnesses unconfirmed by fact or document. Babenko therefore asked for the defendant's acquittance.

Addressing the chair, the prosecution repeated several times that Khidoyatova had confessed. The defendant herself said that she had not confessed anything and objected to the references that she had. "I have never confessed, stop telling the lies!" Khidoyatova said. The prosecution pretended not to hear and proceeded as though uninterrupted. Once Davletov finished, Khidoyatova said, "I understand everything, but you'd better execute me. I do not want to live in a state like that. Call the firing squad."

Chair Zakirzhon Isayev is expected to pass the sentence on February 24.

Several hours before the speech of the prosecution, this news agency received a tip that a trust of support of Khidoyatova might be established in Tashkent. Here is an interview with the author of the initiative.