On March 28, the Namangan city criminal court handed a verdict against a 27-year-old man who was found guilty of insulting the President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on social networks and illegally traveling abroad.
Namangan resident D.T. was arrested on December 4, 2023 after returning from Iran and was charged under Public insult or slander against the President of Uzbekistan, as well as using the press or other media, telecommunications networks or the Internet charge and Illegal travel abroad or illegal entry into Uzbekistan by prior conspiracy by a group of persons charge of the Criminal Code. The first article envisages punishment in the form of correctional labor for up to 3 years or house arrest from 2 to 5 years or imprisonment for up to 5 years, the second provides for imprisonment from 5 to 10 years.
According to the case materials, in September 2016 he left for Iran without obtaining an exit visa in his passport (from January 1, 2019, the issuance of permit stickers for temporary travel abroad was stopped in Uzbekistan and foreign passports were implemented).
As stated in the court ruling, the defendant left a defamatory comment on Facebook under a publication that spoke about the planned participation of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in the Victory Parade in Moscow on May 9, 2023.
In addition, from the “Muhammad Sanjar” account, the man published on Facebook a photo with the president, where he is performing the Umrah pilgrimage, with a comment that was found to be offensive by the examining body.
The defendant partially pleaded guilty under the first article, but did not agree with the charge of illegally traveling abroad by prior conspiracy by a group of persons. According to him, he traveled abroad on his own to enter an Iranian university because he could not pass the exam at the Tashkent University of Information Technologies. He studied in Iran for four years and received a diploma from Al-Mustafa International University.
D.T. learned that he was put on wanted list in 2022. On December 3, 2023, he flew to Tashkent from Tehran.
The man emphasized that he was not a member of any religious organization.
The case materials also contain other comments related to the trials of bloggers Olimjon Khaidarov and Abduqodir Muminov.
The court reclassified the charge under Traveling abroad, entering Uzbekistan or crossing the border in violation of the established order / punishable by a fine from 200 to 400 BSUs or hosue arrest from 3 to 5 years or imprisonment from 3 to 5 years.
The court found the man guilty under the Public insult or slander against the President of Uzbekistan charge and sentenced him to 5 years in prison in a penal colony. His Redmi Note 11 phone was confiscated.
In October, the court sentenced a 19-year-old resident of the Kattakurgan district of Samarkand province to 2 years and 6 months in prison for insulting the president on Instagram. The judge also ordered the defendant's profile to be blocked.
