Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A meeting of the Senate Committee on Defense and Security took place, in which senators, members of the Committee’s expert group, representatives of ministries and departments, as well as media workers took part.

At the meeting of the Committee, the Law “On introducing additions and changes to the Criminal, Criminal Procedure Codes of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan on administrative responsibility in connection with improving the road safety system” was preliminary discussed.

It’s no secret that road traffic accidents with serious consequences occur on the territory of the republic, as a result of which serious damage is caused to the life and health of citizens.

And over the 11 months of 2023, 8,693 road accidents occurred, in which 2,080 people died and 8,055 were injured.

Road traffic accidents are mainly caused by citizens’ disregard for the responsibility established by law and ignorance of the current traffic rules.

The law, which was discussed at the Committee meeting, is aimed specifically at preventing such negative consequences and regulating traffic rules.

The law introduces new articles, amendments and additions to the Criminal Code, the Code of Administrative Responsibility and the Criminal Procedure Code.

Thus, by introducing appropriate amendments to the Criminal Code, criminal liability is established for repeated driving while intoxicated, that is, punishment is established by deprivation of a certain right for up to three years, correctional labor for a period of two to three years, or imprisonment for a term of two to three years. .

In addition, the Criminal Code establishes criminal liability for violation of the procedure for training and retraining of drivers of motor vehicles, as well as conducting examinations and issuing driver’s licenses, driving a vehicle of a person deprived of the right to drive a vehicle, violating safety rules when operating vehicles operating on compressed air. natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas or a mixture of diesel and gaseous fuels.

The law also envisages liability in the Code of Administrative Liability for road hooliganism, i.e. for such violations as dangerous driving, expressed in non-compliance by individual drivers with driving culture, and other actions expressed in “aggressive driving”, performing such actions as “drifting”, “chess”, creating obstacles on the roads.

In addition, the Law under discussion establishes that posting on the Internet information related to the performance of their official duties by law enforcement officers with the purpose of discrediting them shall entail a fine in the amount of fifty basic calculation units or administrative arrest for fifteen days.

It was noted at the meeting that this norm had caused widespread discussion among the population and on social networks. The opinions of the heads of departments and teaching staff of the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the University of Public Security, the Tashkent State Law University, as well as the initiators of the law - senior officials of the Road Safety Service of the Department of Public Security of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were heard.

According to the data, in 2022 and 2023, Highway Patrol officers performing their duties were photographed and videotaped by citizens 253 times and shared online. All these videos were studied by the responsible departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In 102 of the studied videos, the drivers themselves violated traffic rules and posted the video on social networks, misinterpreting the behavior of the Ministry of Internal Affairs officers.

It turned out that most of the drivers filming the videos were stopped by highway patrol officers for violating traffic rules. Violators, resisting this, remove the process of drawing up administrative protocols for violations, and then distribute them on social networks making incorrect comments.

It should be noted that foreign experience has been studied in this regard. The legislation of a number of developed countries prohibits photographing law enforcement officers and establishes certain measures.

For example, in Great Britain, the country’s parliament approved a rule in 2000 prohibiting photographing law enforcement officers performing official duties on the streets or in buildings without their consent. Under this provision, a person who films or attempts to photograph a law enforcement officer on duty with a camera, video camera or cell phone without the officer’s consent may be arrested and subsequently sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.

In Germany, it is not illegal to take photographs of police officers, but it is prohibited to post these photos or videos on social networks and the Internet.

In France, the distribution of images that allow the identification of police officers or gendarmes during certain operations is punishable by one year’s imprisonment and a fine of 45 thousand euros.

As can be seen, the legislation of many states prohibits photographing or filming, as well as distributing information on social networks about the activities of internal affairs officers in the performance of official duties, and for this it is necessary to take appropriate measures.

However, our legislation does not prohibit taking photographs of internal affairs officers, it only prohibits the distribution of photos and videos taken with the aim of discrediting or insulting them, and also establishes liability.

The Committee plans to hold additional discussions on the Law with the participation of specialists and experts, as well as representatives of the public.