Former head of the Penitentiary Department of Uzbekistan’s Interior Ministry Rustam Tursunov has been taken into custody as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.

The investigative actions have been launched against Tursunov, and a preventive measure of pretrial detention has been imposed. He is reportedly being investigated within the same criminal case as former Deputy Interior Minister Bekmurod Abdullayev, The Caspian Post reports via Uzbek media.

At this stage, Uzbekistan’s official authorities have not disclosed details about the nature of the criminal case or the specific charges brought against the former officials.

Tursunov previously held several senior law enforcement posts. In 2017-2018, he served as head of the Jizzakh regional police department, before leading the Navoi regional police department from 2018. From February 2021, he headed the Penitentiary Department of the Interior Ministry.

In early November 2025, Tursunov was dismissed from his post by presidential decree on the same day as Bekmurod Abdullayev.