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Achieving true media freedom will require working to remove these boundaries, such as the regime
needing to become more tolerant of direct criticism of the President and those close to him. That
liberal regime figures talk about the evolution of the sector to achieve greater independence through
greater professionalism still shows that they see their role as defining the terms of engagement in a
way that seems incompatible with full media freedom. The bounds of fair comment by the media
should instead be framed within the bounds of both robust public debate and fairer but functioning
anti-defamation laws.
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At present the proposed changes to the laws on ‘slander and insult’ that
would remove the
risk of prison have stalled, but the current draft would also see a substantial
increase in the level of fines which, in an unreformed court system, could further add to the existing
problem of aggrieved parties seeking to use the threat of financial ruin to silence criticism. One route
to tackling the financial pressures on journalists investigating powerful forces would be, in the
context of
NGO liberalisation, allowing the development of donor funded investigative journalism
such as Kloop in neighbouring Krygyzstan or the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project
internationally, adding to rather than replacing emerging journalistic initiatives in Uzbekistan.
Reforming the courts is a key part of delivering progress on rule of law and it will be critical to
underpinning real change across so many areas, from human rights to corruption, media freedom
and Uzbekistan’s economic performance. Important steps to take include extending the new asset
transparency requirements for civil servants to the judiciary while taking further steps to increase
their official salaries and extend their term of office as part of measures to try to tackle both graft
and institutional pressures on judges. Measures being taken to increase the number of independent
lawyers (particularly registered advocates who can appear in court), including the expansion of legal
education in Uzbek universities and improving the prestige of the profession, are very welcome and
must sit alongside further steps to reduce the power of the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) in
determining the outcome of the legal process and raising the chance of acquittal
in court through fair
trials.
Further reform of the PGO needs to sit alongside continuing reform of the security services to end
the continuing risk of arbitrary arrest and torture. As recent events show there is still work to do to
fulfil the President’s promises on the eradication of torture and mistreatment of suspects,
something which should see further pressure on the Government to allow independent monitoring
of Uzbekistan’s prisons and other places of detention and to ratify the UN’s Optional Protocol to the
Convention against Torture. The Government should also amend the vague and overbroad criminal
code provisions relating to espionage and extremism that give too much leeway to the security
services and are commonly used to criminalise dissent – particularly Articles 157, 159, 216, 244-1,
and 244-2. As well as transforming the investigation of major crimes steps
need to be taken to limit
the routine abuse of administrative code punishments that lead to 15 day imprisonment for minor
or invented infractions by activists. This should form part of a wider culture change (slowly
underway but far from complete) to end the harassment of activists (including political activists,
local bloggers or would be independent NGO activists) who fall outside the boundaries of
‘constructive criticism’. The Ombudsman’s office needs to continue its steps towards independence
and receive the necessary funding required to investigate abuses, while avoiding it sometimes being
overlooked in favour of the National Human Rights Centre’s more outward facing role.
Removing the all-encompassing pressure of the Karimov presidency has helped people to start to
address important questions
around identity, belief and personal behaviour. It has provided
opportunities for women to talk more openly about their desire for greater opportunities in the
economy and public life, about the endemic culture of domestic abuse and to critique family
structures that often subjugate younger women. At the same time there has been a slight loosening
of restrictions on religious activity and many religious prisoners have been freed, though the
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And for broadcast television within the bounds of internationally recognised regulations that give greater scope for public debate.
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158
authorities should make available a list of all persons currently serving sentences for extremism-
related charges to help make clear the extent of recent changes. Expanding both freedoms in
parallel creates certain challenges when rights may be seen to come into conflict and the
process
needs to be handled with care. For example, it is important that the Uzbek Government takes steps
to end the restrictions on religious dress (which
de facto creates a ban on the hijab and long beards)
and to allow registration of independent religious organisations, while simultaneously taking steps
to reassure women’s groups that action will be taken against rising social pressures against women
choosing to wear jeans,
shorts or skirts, which is as much - if not more - the product of
traditionalist/nationalist sentiments being expressed openly on social media with issues of toxic
masculinity as it is of growing religiosity. Uzbek leaders can also help by promoting a positive and
open conception of Uzbek national identity and patriotism, potentially further revising ideas around
the national concept of Manaviyat. Alongside creating a society where individuals are free to choose
what
they wear and think, all Uzbeks need the right to be able to openly and legally love who they
love by ending the ban on male homosexuality that forces people into the shadows or exile and
promotes the extortion of those at risk of arrest.
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