Tashkent police arrested individuals who planned to hold an unauthorized rally in support of Palestine on Sunday, sources in law enforcement agencies told The Tashkent Times.

Calls for the rally surfaced on social networks several days beforehand. Activists prepared a banner that copied the banner of the rally in support of Palestine, which took place in Istanbul a day earlier, on Saturday.

The banner depicted a monument to Amir Temur and a large number of people around with the flags of Uzbekistan and Palestine. The time and venue were given as: October 29, 14:00, Amir Temur Square. At the bottom of the banner were the inscriptions “Shoulder to shoulder with Palestine”, “15 days (15-day administrative arrest – Ed.) do not scare me” and “If there are many of us, they will hear us.”

According to sources, not only city residents, but also people from neighboring provinces were heading to the center of the capital to attend the rally. They arrived at the square in groups, there were more than 100 people in total.

Law enforcement agencies were aware of the planned meeting. In the square and around it, the police and the National Guard officers were present, and cars and buses of these forces were parked.

Law enforcement officers took more than 100 people to police departments, interrogated them, and released most of them. At some of them, administrative protocols were drawn up (presumably under Violation of the procedure for organizing, holding meetings, rallies, street processions or demonstrations Charge), and the materials were submitted to the court.

There were no serious incidents, the source noted. In conversations, the detainees said that they had arrived in the park to help the Palestinians, but they had no understanding of how this action could help. Some admitted that they were not aware of the nature of the conflict in the Middle East.

As per the Article 201 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, violation of the procedure for organizing or holding meetings, rallies, street processions or demonstrations is punishable with a fine of 60 to 80 basic units (from US$ 1.5 to 2 thousand) or administrative arrest for up to 15 days.

The same offense, committed by the organizer of the event again after the application of an administrative penalty, entails criminal liability, with a maximum penalty of imprisonment for a term of up to 3 years.