The Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis [Senate] considered the draft law “On amendments and additions to the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Administrative Responsibility”.
After the approval of the amendments by the President, the Code of Administrative Responsibility establishes responsibility “for posting information that promotes violations in this area, including violence and cruelty in the media, on telecommunications networks or the Internet”.
In the current version of the Code, such acts entail the imposition of a fine on citizens from $ 1062 to $ 2124, and on officials – from $ 2124 to $ 3186.
In accordance with the new bill, it is proposed to increase the amount of fines for ordinary people to $ 8500 and for responsible persons – to $ 9557.
Administrative punishment is also provided “for deliberate posting of false information in the form of reliable information on telecommunication networks or the Internet, leading to humiliation of the dignity of a person or discrediting a person”.
The amendments, which are proposed by the deputy, provide that a citizen “can be prosecuted for such actions only if they are repeated within 1 year after the previous administrative liability”.
The people’s representatives assess the innovations as “important aspects of ensuring freedom of speech and information”.
As the ACCA expert notes, “journalists and human rights activists, and ordinary users, will significantly reduce criticism of the authorities. We are quite expecting an increase in self-censorship in the media. Now hate speech on social networks is due to the lack of normal gas and electricity. Demolition of housing with discrimination against existing legislation naturally causes hate towards the authorities, which is mentioned in posts and publications.”
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