It should be recalled that in the Legislative Chamber, in the third reading, a law introduced by the MIA was adopted, which provides for a fine of 50 BCAs or arrest for up to 15 days for publishing photos and videos on the Internet of law enforcement officers of Uzbekistan with the aim of discrediting or insulting them.
The “Yuksalish” nationwide movement, citing a wide response among the public, emphasizes that the introduction of this norm is contrary to the current policy of openness and could harm the human rights situation in the country.
“Yuksalish” gives several reasons why it is not worth introducing punishment for publishing photos and videos of law enforcement officers:
Firstly, every change in legislation, especially the introduction of a new norm that seriously affects human rights policy, ensuring openness and transparency of the activities of government bodies, which are the main indicators of democracy, must have certain grounds.
Is there a sharp increase in the number of cases of unfounded discredit and insult of law enforcement agencies on the Internet today? If there really are many such cases, are there accurate statistics? What is the reason for the decision and how seriously do these cases affect the effective functioning of the system? The public needs to get answers to these questions.
Secondly, to justify the introduced norm, Article 99 of the Civil Code and Articles 4 and 28 of the Law “On Personal Data” are cited.
However, penalties for these violations are already defined in law. That is, administrative and criminal liability is provided for insulting a person.
In addition, according to Article 202-2 of the Administrative Responsibility Code, the dissemination of false information, including on the Internet, leading to humiliation of a person’s dignity or discreditation of a person, entails a fine of 50 BCAs. So, what dictated the decision to introduce a separate rule concerning law enforcement officers?
Today, human rights and interests occupy a central place in public administration. This idea is reflected in the principle “man – society – state”, as the main criterion of the updated Constitution. Decisions made cannot contradict this principle.
Thirdly, the experience of countries such as Great Britain, Hungary, Germany, France and Belarus, where a similar norm has been introduced, has been studied. However, it is necessary to deeply analyze the nature of social and political problems in these countries, for what cases such norms are used.
In the listed and other developed democratic countries there are such restrictions, but in these countries every citizen is guaranteed the right to receive recordings from a police officer’s body camera in conflict situations.
Fourthly, according to the Law “On the Openness of the Activities of State Authorities and Management Bodies”, the freedom to search, receive and disseminate information about the activities of government agencies, publicity and transparency of their activities are defined as the basic principles of openness of the activities of government authorities and management bodies.
The definition of a new measure of liability introduced by the new norm should not lead to the impossibility of video recording the activities of law enforcement officers in connection with their service.
Fifthly, on the contrary, if photos and videos about unlawful actions of law enforcement officers are distributed on the Internet, then the heads of these structures should direct their attention to improving the system. This will serve to increase the professionalism of law enforcement agencies and their respect for human rights.
“Yuksalish” noted that the law will be considered by the Senate of Oliy Majlis.
“We believe that senators should pay serious attention to the public’s questions and objections,” the movement said in a statement.
