Uzbekistan to introduce mandatory video recording during detention activities from April 1, 2020

Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed the decree “On additional measures to ensure the supremacy of the Constitution and the law, strengthening public control and legal culture in society”.

According to the document, from April 1, 2020 in Uzbekistan, it will be mandatory to record actions to detain a person with an explanation of his procedural rights and refusal to protect him. In addition, law enforcement officials, after the person is detained, will be required to immediately notify any member of the detainee’s family, and if they are absent - his relatives or close persons.

Starting from July 1, 2020, Uzbekistan will also introduce an electronic system for recording the detention of persons and other actions related to the application of compulsory procedural measures restricting the rights of detainees.

It should be recalled that at present, according to the Criminal-Procedural Code, an inquiry officer, investigator and prosecutor, applying a measure of procedural coercion to a suspect or accused, in the form of detention, and the court - in the form of keeping him in custody, house arrest or placement of a person in a medical institution for examination, must notify one of the family members about it not later than 24 hours, and if they are absent - other relatives or close persons. Also, law enforcement officers should inform the detainee’s place of work or study about this.