In Uzbekistan, 23 people who are responsible for the death of 68 children were convicted: details

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A court in Uzbekistan sentenced to prison 23 people involved in the death of 68 children who used cough syrup of the Indian company Marion Biotech.

Previously, it was known about the death of 65 children, but last month Tashkent prosecutors updated the data and found out that there were actually more of them, writes Reuters.

The accused, including one Indian citizen, were threatened with imprisonment for a term of two to 20 years. They were found guilty of tax evasion, sale of low-quality or falsified drugs, abuse of office, negligence, forgery of documents and bribery.

Singh Raghvendra Pratar, the executive director of Quramax Medical, which sold Marion Biotech’s drugs in Uzbekistan, was sentenced to the longest prison term – 20 years.

Former high-ranking officials who were responsible for drug licensing were also given long terms.

In addition, the court decided to pay monetary compensation in the amount of 80,000 dollars to each family of the deceased child, as well as to the families of those children who became disabled as a result of consuming the syrup.

The parents of eight other children who were also affected by the drug will receive between $16,000 and $40,000. This money will be collected from seven convicts, according to the court’s decision.

We will remind you that the story begins in 2022. It was then that the connection between child deaths and the use of syrup was discovered. About 300 children died because of them on different continents.

Then the World Health Organization warned that four cough syrups from the Indian company Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd contained toxic substances – diethylene glycol or ethylene glycol.

Testing showed that it contained the industrial ingredient propylene glycol, which is commonly used to make liquid detergents, antifreeze, paints and coatings, and to enhance the effectiveness of pesticides. Their concentration level was too high.