Irina Zaydman and Maria Legler got 10 and 15 days of administrative arrest, respectively for organizing illegal assembly, deputy chief of the Tashkent Police Department (TPD), the head of the Investigation division Doniyor Tashkhodzhaev said on Saturday.
He said that in June an assembly of people was organized by Irina Shakhnazarova (Zaydman) in the Friendship Park via social networks, including Facebook, at which signatures were collected under the petition to the Interior Ministry of Uzbekistan with a demand to punish the alleged murderer of the Borovsky medical college student Zhasurbek Ibrahimov.
Maria Golovko (Legler) on September 26 initiated collection of signatures under a petition to the authorities in defense of animals near the monument to Pushkin in the Yakkasaray district.
Both meetings of citizens, according to the TPD were held without permits.
On November 10, Maria Golovko was charged under the 201 (Violation of the procedure for organizing, holding assemblies, rallies, street processions or demonstrations), 202 (Creation of conditions for holding unauthorized assemblies, rallies, street processions and demonstrations) and 202-1 (Inducement to participate in the activities of illegal non-state non-profit organizations, movements, sects) of the Code on Administrative Liability: In her respect, the punishment was imposed in the form of administrative arrest for 10 days, as well as a fine of 60 times the minimum wage (=8.98 million soums, $1,100).
On November 15, Irina Shakhnazarova was charged under the articles 201 and 202 of the Code on Administrative Liability. She got 15 days of administrative arrest and a fine of 50 min. wage (7.48 million soums, $900).
In court, women admitted that they made a mistake not to have obtained permit from the city municipality, Tashkhodzhaev said.
Doniyor Tashkhodzhaev denied information that the detention of women proceeded with violations and that the court sessions were held behind closed doors and without the lawyers.
He stressed that bringing Irina Shakhnazarova and Maria Golovko to justice does not mean that the Tashkent Police gave some kind of signal to fellow citizens. "We live in a state of law, we have laws and established order. And any unauthorized assemblies, rallies, signing of petitions will be stopped in the manner prescribed by law. Organizers will be held accountable under the law. We do not want to frighten whosoever, we want everything to be within the law," Doniyor Tashkhodzhaev concluded.
