Uzbekistan to introduce an open electronic registry of extremist organizations and materials

Open registry on the Ministry of Justice website

Uzbekistan will maintain a unified electronic registry of extremist organizations, materials and electronic resources. This is provided for by amendments to the law “On Countering Extremism,” as reported by the Ministry of Justice (Kun.uz, Daryo.uz). The registry will be maintained by the Ministry of Justice and posted on its official website, and the information in it will be open to everyone.

What will be included in the registry

Four categories will be included in the registry: organizations whose activities have been suspended due to their involvement in extremist activity; organizations recognized as extremist; materials recognized as extremist; and electronic resources on the internet or telecommunications networks on which extremist materials were posted and distributed two or more times within a year.

How material is recognized as extremist

The procedure is multi-stage. State bodies fighting extremism submit a petition to the Prosecutor General’s Office to have material or a resource recognized as extremist; it must be accompanied by an expert opinion confirming the presence of extremist content. The Prosecutor General’s Office verifies whether the documents are well-founded, and if it finds them to be so, the Prosecutor General or his deputy files an application with the Supreme Court. The final decision is made by the Supreme Court in accordance with the procedure established by law.

Context: tightening of liability

The amendment on the registry continues a series of changes to anti-extremist legislation. As previously reported by Daryo.uz, participation in extremist, separatist, fundamentalist or other banned organizations is punishable by imprisonment of 5 to 10 years. In addition, administrative liability has been introduced for storing extremist materials with the intent to distribute them and for producing or storing symbols of extremist and terrorist organizations with the intent to distribute or display them: a fine for citizens of 50 to 100 BRV (basic calculation units), and for officials — 100 to 150 BRV or administrative arrest of up to 15 days. In practice, the open registry means that citizens and organizations will be able to independently check whether a particular organization, material or website has been included in the official list.