Groom who hit wife in the head on wedding day in Uzbekistan is charged

A spiteful groom who punched his wife in the head on their wedding day after she beat him at a party game has been charged over the attack. 

The man, who has not been named, beat his betrothed after she won a race to unwrap sweets that had been organised by guests at their wedding in the southern region of Surkhandaryo on June 6, with footage going viral online. 

Video drew the attention of Saida Mirziyoyeva, daughter of the country’s president, who condemned the attack – prompting police to track the couple down.

Officers say the man has now been charged with ‘hooliganism’ but is facing just 15 days in prison and a fine if found guilty. 

A committee in the Uzbek legislature’s upper house said the young man had ‘apologised to the bride and expressed regret at his actions’ at a neighbourhood hearing attended by community elders and relatives of the couple.

‘On the same day, the bride and groom reconciled and now live together,’ the committee said.

Speaking out against the violence, Ms Mirziyoyeva had said: ‘We shouldn’t remain silent about such cases, we should not pretend that they are one-offs.

‘This is why we need education that opens horizons and makes women independent and strong.’

After being struck, footage captured an obviously distraught bride putting her head in her hands before being led off the stage by another woman.

The groom remained on stage looking out at the silenced guest as if nothing had happened, as his best man stood alongside him fidgeting with his phone. 

Uzbekistan has a history of arranged marriages, although these are less common today. It is unclear if this was an arranged marriage. 

But after the newlywed bride won the game, her husband saw red – and lashed out at her

The bride was helped off stage by two women as the groom started emotionless from the stage

The wedding footage has gone viral on social media in central Asia, with people reacting angrily on Twitter.

‘This is so sad,’ one person wrote on the social media platform. ‘I hope she will find courage to charge him and keep him accountable for his actions.’

‘What horror!’ another wrote. ‘Good this was out on the internet to shame this horrible man. But I hope she can be taken away from him. How can her parents watch this? What is he some mafia goon? How appalling.’

A third wrote: ‘It’s horrific how much this is normalized. I hope she gets away from him sooner better than later,’ while posting three broken-heart emojis.

Bizarrely, it is not the first time a video has emerged showing a groom lashing out at his new wife in the country.

In 2019, a clip of a similar incident in Uzbekistan caught the public’s attention, which saw a groom angrily lashing out at his bride after she teased him by pretending to take his wedding cake away.

The clip showed the groom angrily lashing out at his bride after she teased him by pretending to take his wedding cake away

In the previous incident, the groom hits the unnamed woman with such force that she stumbled backwards on to a seat behind her. 

A man standing behind the groom grabbed him while one of the shocked guests comforts the bride as she stands back up. 

At the time, social media users also slammed the unnamed man’s behaviour online with one saying: ‘That guy needs to be taught a lesson in human rights and the woman needs to file for an annulment, ASAP!’