An amendment has been inserted to the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan, establishing liability for public insult or defamation against the President of the country using telecommunication networks or the Internet. The Law on this was signed on March 30 by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The document was passed by the Legislative Chamber on March 4 and approved by the Senate on March 12.
The amendment to the part 3 of the Art. 158 of the Criminal Code ("Attacks on the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan") now reads as follows (the amandment is in bold):
“Public insult or libel against the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as with the use of the press or other media, telecommunication networks or the Internet, shall be punished with correctional labor up to 3 years, house arrest from 2 to 5 years or imprisonment up to 5 years ".
The amendment took effect on March 31, 2021.
