Uzbekistan: court fined journalist for $21
On February 7, the Yakkasaray Inter-District court for Civil Cases of Tashkent partially satisfied the claim of Fashion Bar Brasserie LLC against journalist Nikita Makarenko for disseminating “unreliable” information about the institution owned by the company. According to the court, he should publish and pay 200 000 sums ($21) as compensation for moral damage. The text of the refutation will be written by the judge himself.
The journalist did not agree with the court verdict and intends to appeal. According to an ACCA expert, the absurdity of the Uzbek legal proceedings was clear at the previous meeting, when it turned out that the lawsuit was filed and began to be considered without regard to the place of registration of the defendant. “Earlier, the claim was examined by the Mirabad Inter-District Civil court,” the expert notes. “It’s ridiculous to talk about the physical or mental suffering of a nightclub, which the attorney drew attention to at a previous meeting.”
The journalist has been trying for more than six months to protect the rights of residents to have a night rest in the quarter where he lives. The law enforcement agencies did not help him in any way. They just wrote receipts for exceeding noise standards.
Lawyers are now expecting a rebuttal text from the judge, so that the appeal puts an end to the bar’s claims that the FIFTY bar is “nasty people” and the music in the bar is “smelly”. At all court hearings, the plaintiff could not refute the violation of noise standards.
