Uzbekistan has reportedly toughened measures against mendicancy. Uzbekistan’s upper house (Senate) of parliament has endorsed the law on changes and addenda proposed to the country’s criminal and administrative legislation, according to Podrobno.ru.
These amendments are reportedly aimed at improving mechanisms of maintaining public order in the country.
The amendments, in particular, provide for toughening measures against mendicancy and establishing responsibility for mendicancy, involvement of minors, elderly people, people with disabilities and people suffering of mental diseases in this process.
Mendicancy will be punishable by a fine or 15 days of administrative arrest. In the case of repeated detention for mendicancy, a beggar could face up to two years in correctional labor.
According to the statistical data from the Tashkent police department, 5,000 people resorting to begging have been registered in the Uzbek capital over the past year. Uzbekistan. More than 4,000 of them are women, 100 men with disabilities and 500 elderly people.
