On May 4, the presidential spokesman of Uzbekistan Sherzod Asadov said in his speech at the “Oltin qalam” (“Golden pen”) awarding ceremony in the field of journalism that the responsibility for pressure on journalists will be strengthened.
“In the current legislation, the necessary work has begun to strengthen the responsibility of officials of state bodies and organizations for obstructing the activities of mass media, censorship, pressure and harassment of editorial staff,” Asadov said.
“Obviously, where the national press is free and strong, popular reforms will continue. I am confident that a strong press will be created by professional journalists who will meet the criteria of impartiality, fairness and truth in their work,” the head of the presidential press service noted.
As Kun.uz previously reported, the issue of imposing penalties for resisting the activities of media workers has been raised amid a number of events, but the problem has not been resolved. As a result, hindering the media activities are ongoing.
In 2019, a bill to introduce liability for obstructing journalistic activity was under discussion. Another bill has been announced to introduce liability in 2020.
In early 2021, another draft was announced – a new version of the draft Criminal Code. It also provides for introducing liability for obstruction of journalistic activity. But so far none of the above projects have been accepted.
The issue of legalizing the right of journalists to appeal to parliament over state and economic bodies has remained as open as ever.
The issue discussed in parliament in 2020 – the failure to provide information to the mass media or the imposition of liability for misrepresentation – also remained on paper.
According to the State Program for 2021, it was planned to develop a draft presidential decree on strengthening the legal framework for ensuring freedom of speech and comprehensive development of the mass media. The draft resolution developed by AIMC has not yet been approved.
Six months ago, AIMC Director Asad Khodjayev, in response to a question from Kun.uz, said that the issue of imposing liability for obstruction of journalistic activity could be resolved by the end of the year.
It should be noted that while a number of laws provide for the protection of journalists from harassment and intimidation, the Codes do not include liability for this.
