Uzbekistan introduces 5 to 10 years in prison for participating in extremist organizations

The law was signed on November 2 and entered into force on November 3. It was drafted by the Prosecutor General's Office, and the Senate approved the document in August. The new sanction in the Criminal Code applies to participation in extremist, separatist, fundamentalist, and other prohibited structures. Previously, participation was punishable by up to 15 years, the same as for establishing and leading such organizations.

Administrative liability is introduced for a number of offenses committed for the first time. This includes the production or storage for distribution of materials containing ideas of extremism, separatism, or fanaticism, if they call for the mass extermination or forced deportation of citizens, or sow panic among the population. This also includes the production, storage for distribution, or display of the symbols and paraphernalia of extremist and terrorist organizations. Citizens face a fine of 50 to 100 BCV, while officials face 100 to 150 BCV with confiscation, or administrative detention of up to 15 days. Criminal liability, as Uznews clarifies, will arise only for a repeat offense after an administrative penalty.

In all regulatory acts, the term "religious extremism" has been replaced with "extremism".

The Ministry of Justice will maintain an electronic registry of extremist organizations and materials, open to everyone on the agency's website. It will include, among other things, electronic sources on the internet and telecommunications networks where extremist materials were systematically posted and distributed — two or more times in a year. Materials will be recognized as extremist by the Supreme Court upon an application from the prosecutor general or his deputy, which is submitted following an examination of a state body's petition supported by an expert evaluation.