As a human rights activist Abdurakhmon Tashanov reported, a 31-year-old man became a member of the Telegram group “Associations of Bloggers”. In this group, he insulted the first President and the current head of state.

The results of a forensic linguistic examination showed that the man had indeed committed a crime under Article 158 (assault on the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan) of the Criminal Code.

As a result, the court sentenced the local resident to 3 years in prison.

It should be recalled that in April 2021, in the Bakhmal district, Jizzakh region, employees of the State Security Service detained a man who insulted the President on social networks. Then employees of the Jizzakh regional SSS department initiated a case under Article 158 (assault on the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan) of the Criminal Code.

At the end of March last year, Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed Law “On amendments and additions to certain legislative acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan”.

The document supplemented Article 158 of the Criminal Code with the words “telecommunications networks or the Internet”. Now, public insult or slander against the President, as well as using the press or other media, telecommunications networks or the Internet, is punishable by correctional labor up to 3 years or restriction of liberty from 2 to 5 years, or imprisonment up to 5 years.