Uzbek Man Jailed 17 Years Begins Changwon Murder Retrial

A South Korean court began the Changwon retrial of Uzbek national Akmal Bozorov on Thursday (Nov 12), nearly 17 years after he was jailed for life over the 2009 robbery and murder of a taxi driver, Korea JoongAng Daily reported. A verdict is expected as early as the beginning of next year.

Changwon Retrial Timetable Set

At the first hearing at the Changwon District Court in South Gyeongsang, the court said it plans to wrap up proceedings after two more hearings, on Dec 17 and Jan 14, barring unforeseen circumstances. Four witnesses are to be questioned, including the original informant, a National Forensic Service examiner, a former fellow inmate and an interpreter from the original trial.

Bozorov’s lawyer, Park Jun-yeong, withdrew a request for a jury trial, which could have delayed proceedings. He said Bozorov wants to finish the trial and return to Uzbekistan as soon as possible, and that he hoped the current judges would rule before a judicial reshuffle in mid-February.

Court Found Deceptive Interrogation

The case dates to March 2009, when a taxi driver was robbed and murdered in Changwon. In July that year, police arrested three foreign nationals over a separate robbery and assault on another taxi driver, and investigators then identified Bozorov as the perpetrator of the March murder. His life sentence was upheld in 2010.

Bozorov, now 37, petitioned for a retrial in January last year, saying he had falsely confessed because of unlawful interrogation. In October, the court granted the request after finding police had deceived him, falsely telling him his DNA was found at the scene and that the victim was still alive. It also found investigators violated his right to an interpreter. He walked out of Changwon Prison on Oct 15.

His defence had pointed to discrepancies between his confession and the evidence, including a distance he described that did not match the victim’s taxi meter.

Bozorov Vows to Tell the Truth

Speaking after the hearing, Bozorov said: “I will tell the whole truth in court.” He also said he had committed a very serious crime in the July case and would continue to live with remorse.

He is staying at a Catholic facility in Seoul and plans to attend the coming hearings, the newspaper reported.

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