President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed the Victim, Witness and Other Participant Protection in Criminal Process Bill into Law. The bill was passed by the Legislative Chamber on November 22, 2018 and was approved by the Senate on December 13, 2018.
The law provides for the list of persons to be protected, establishes the state bodies responsible for ensuring their protection. The police, the state security service, the prosecution authorities, courts are the bodies that make decisions on providing protection.
It has established that police, state security service bodies, military units and the higher command of the Armed Forces shall provide security measures, while social protection service and other bodies set out by the Cabinet of Ministers are to provide social protection.
The law provides for such security measures as ensuring the confidentiality of information about the protected person, personal safety, protection of the house and other property, issuing special personal protective means and equipment, temporary placement in a safe place, relocation to another place of residence, change of place of work or study, replacement of documents, restriction of access to information about the protected person.
Also, the law sets out the rights and obligations of the protected persons for personal and property security, application of social protection measures, applying for additional security measures, appealing to a higher authority against decisions and actions of bodies providing protection.
At the same time, the protected persons are obliged to fulfill the legal requirements of the body ensuring their safety, immediately inform them of each case of threat or unlawful actions against them, take care of the materials intended for ensuring safety, not to disclose information about security measures.
