Senate rejects bill on banning “defamatory” release of law enforcement officers’ videos

At the 55th plenary session of the Senate of Oliy Majlis, the law “On making additions and amendments to the Criminal and Criminal Procedural Codes of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Administrative Responsibility Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan in connection with the improvement of the road safety system” was considered, Kun.uz correspondent reported. 

This document provides for the responsibility for disseminating images related to the activities of law enforcement officers “with the purpose of discrediting”. Senators did not approve the law and sent it back for reconsideration. Now the reconciliation commission of the parliamentary chambers will be formed.

It should be recalled that the draft law was adopted by the Legislative Chamber on November 28, 2023.

The law stipulates a fine of 50 BCAs (17 million UZS) or 15-day administrative imprisonment for distributing photos and videos of law enforcement officials on the Internet in order to discredit them.

Earlier, deputies of the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis Doniyor Ganiyev and Bobur Bekmurodov assessed this norm as contrary to the policy of openness.

According to Doniyor Ganiyev, if such a standard is adopted, it will serve to “replace respect with fear, trust with suspicion, and love with hatred”.

“Tomorrow they can abuse this norm and use it for other purposes to violate the rights of citizens and treat them rudely,” Ganiyev said during the parliamentary discussion.

According to Bobur Bekmurodov, the experiences of developed countries cannot be a sufficient basis.

“Because in these countries, along with these restrictions, every citizen is guaranteed the right to get a body camera image of that police officer at any time. We do not have this guarantee in this law.

In addition, according to the current legislation, Article 202-2 of the Civil Code contains norms that limit the dissemination of information related to a person in order to discredit him. This also applies to law enforcement agencies. That is, there is no logic in setting a separate norm for law enforcement agencies,” the deputy said in his video message.