He (Rahimahullah) was sentenced to five years in prison for the first time on 06/12/2000 CE by the Court of the Yangiyo'l Directorate in the province of Tashkent and in accordance with Article 159 Part III of the Criminal Code of the Uzbek Constitution. What he (Rahimahullah) saw - with his own eyes and witnessed personally the cruelty of the prison and its wardens - increased his conviction of the corruption of the regime and the necessity for change.