A statement released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on May 30 says increasing numbers of people in Uzbekistan are being prosecuted and imprisoned for “insulting the president online.” The criminal charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and violates international human rights law.
HRW urges the Government of Uzbekistan to repeal the offense of ‘insulting the president online’ and take immediate steps to release anyone imprisoned on this charge.
“People in Uzbekistan should be able to criticize the president and other authorities openly, without fear of reprisal,” Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said.
Uzbek authorities should stop prosecuting citizens who have criticized President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and his family and repeal the law that makes it an offense, the statement says.
Human Rights Watch reportedly reviewed one indictment and five verdicts handed down to people in Uzbekistan in the last year on the charge of “public insult or slander against the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as using the press or other media, telecommunications networks, or the Internet,” under article 158, part 3 of the Uzbek Criminal Code, and found that authorities in Uzbekistan are wrongfully prosecuting citizens for nonviolent exercise of their right to freedom of expression. Other reports indicate even higher numbers of prosecutions on this charge.
The statement notes that laws that penalize criticism of public figures are contrary to international law and the fact that some forms of expression are considered insulting is not sufficient to justify criminal prosecutions, far less imprisonment. The offense of “insult” against the president or other officials simply turns the criminal justice system into a tool of the government to take revenge against anyone who offends or slights it.
