Freedom in the World 2020 Uzbekistan

5/18/2020 Uzbekistan | Freedom House

https://freedomhouse.org/country/uzbekistan/freedom-world/2020 1/17

FREEDOM IN THE WORLD 2020

UzbekistanNOT FREE

Political Rights 2

Civil Liberties 8

9 Not Free

Global freedom statuses are calculated on a weighted scale. See the methodology.

10/100

/40

/60

LAST YEAR'S SCORE & STATUS/100

https://freedomhouse.org/

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2020/leaderless-struggle-democracy

https://freedomhouse.org/reports/freedom-world/freedom-world-research-methodology



Overview

While ongoing reforms under President Shavkat Mirziyoyev have led toimprovements on some issues, including a modest reduction in media repressionand reforms that mandated more female legislative candidates, Uzbekistan remainsan authoritarian regime with little movement toward democratization. Noopposition parties operate legally. The legislature and judiciary effectively serve asinstruments of the executive branch, which initiates reforms by decree, and themedia remains tightly controlled by the state. Reports of torture and other ill-treatment remain common, although highly publicized cases of abuse continue toresult in dismissals and prosecutions for some officials and small-scale corruptionhas been meaningfully reduced.

Key Developments in 2019

The government introduced electoral reforms in February that allowed ex-felons to vote, allowed voters to add their names to multiple party rolls, andintroduced a gender quota to guarantee female representation in thelegislature.In September, a blogger was arrested and jailed after calling on Mirziyoyev toinvestigate corruption by local officials. A second journalist was forced into apsychiatric institution in October after documenting a protest, and wasthreatened with permanent institutionalization before she was released inDecember.Mirziyoyev continued purging prosecutors and the security servicethroughout the year. The prosecutor general was dismissed in June and puton trial in September over accusations of graft, while a former prosecutor wasimprisoned over corruption charges in June. The security services chief wasalso handed a long prison sentence for bribery in September.Despite Mirziyoyev’s calls for international nongovernmental organizations(NGOs) to return to Uzbekistan, the American Councils for International



Education was denied accreditation in 2019 and remained unregistered.

Political Rights

A. Electoral Process

A1 0-4 pts

Was the current head of government or other chief national authorityelected through free and fair elections? 0

The president, who holds most executive power, is directly elected for up to twofive-year terms. Longtime prime minister Mirziyoyev was named acting presidentthrough an irregular parliamentary process in 2016, after Islam Karimov, who hadheld the presidency since Uzbekistan’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991,suffered a stroke and died. The constitution called for the Senate chairman to serveas acting president, but the chairman declined the post. Mirziyoyev won a specialpresidential election at the end of 2016, taking a reported 88.6 percent of the voteand defeating nominal challengers whose parties in some cases openly campaignedfor the incumbent. Election monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) concluded that “the dominant position of state actorsand limits on fundamental freedoms undermine political pluralism and led to acampaign devoid of genuine competition.”

A2 0-4 pts

Were the current national legislative representatives elected through freeand fair elections? 0

Uzbekistan has a bicameral legislature. The lower house is comprised of 150 seats,with its members directly elected in single-member constituencies. The 100-

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member upper house, or Senate, has 84 members elected by regional councils and16 appointed by the president. All members of the parliament serve five-year terms.

The December 2019 lower house election again offered voters no meaningfulchoice, as all participating parties supported the government. Initial results closelymirrored the previous lower house election and indicated that the president’s party,the Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (UzLiDeP), took the largest share with43 of 150 seats. Milliy Tiklanish (National Revival) won 35, the Adolat (Justice) SocialDemocratic Party won 21, and the People’s Democratic Party (UXDP) won 18. TheEcological Party of Uzbekistan, which directly competed for the first time afterpreviously having its seats automatically allocated, lost 3 seats and returned with 11.Runoff elections were scheduled for early 2020 to resolve 22 races where nocandidates secured a majority.

OSCE election monitors noted numerous irregularities during the December 2019election, including procedural violations, the use of multiple ballots by voters, andballot box stuffing.

A3 0-4 pts

Are the electoral laws and framework fair, and are they implementedimpartially by the relevant election management bodies? 1

The electoral laws and framework are implemented in ways that offer noopportunities for independent political actors or parties to participate in electionsat any level. Election management bodies are closely controlled by the government,though Mirziyoyev has shepherded some reforms to the country’s electoralframework during his tenure as president. In 2017, he signed legislation allowing theelection of 11 district councils within Tashkent, in addition to the existing council forthe city as a whole; Tashkent has the status of a region, and districts in the country’sother regions already had elected councils.

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In February 2019, the government enacted another set of electoral reforms thatended indirect representation for the Ecological Party, removed voting restrictionson ex-felons, and allowed voters to add their names to more than one party roll;these lists are required for political parties to participate in elections.

Score Change: The score improved from 0 to 1 because December’s legislativeelection was conducted under new electoral laws that introduced modest reforms.

B. Political Pluralism and

Participation

B1 0-4 pts

Do the people have the right to organize in different political parties orother competitive political groupings of their choice, and is the systemfree of undue obstacles to the rise and fall of these competing parties orgroupings?

0

Only five political parties are registered—UzLiDep, the UXDP, Adolat, Milliy Tiklanish,and the Ecological Party. They indulge in mild criticism of one another andoccasionally of government ministers, but all are effectively progovernment.

B2 0-4 pts

Is there a realistic opportunity for the opposition to increase its supportor gain power through elections? 0

No genuine opposition parties operate legally. Unregistered opposition groupsfunction primarily in exile. Domestic supporters or family members of exiledopposition figures have been persecuted, and they are barred from participating inelections.

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B3 0-4 pts

Are the people’s political choices free from domination by forces that areexternal to the political sphere, or by political forces that employextrapolitical means?

0

Regional alliances of political elites hold the levers of government at all levels,creating economic oligarchies and patronage networks that stifle politicalcompetition. There is some intra-elite competition, but without the patronage ofthe established networks, political and economic advancement is all but impossible.

B4 0-4 pts

Do various segments of the population (including ethnic, religious, gender,LGBT, and other relevant groups) have full political rights and electoralopportunities?

0

No registered party represents the specific interests of ethnic or religious minoritygroups, and no other parties or actors have the opportunity to achieve politicalrepresentation. Women formally enjoy equal political rights, but they are unable toorganize independently to advance their political interests in practice, and theyremain underrepresented in leadership positions.

However, a gender quota was introduced as part of an electoral reform packageenacted in 2019; 30 percent of legislative candidates must be women. Women nowhold 32 percent of the seats in lower house, which was elected after these reformswere enacted. Women held 17 percent of the seats in the Senate in 2019, which waslast elected before these reforms took effect. No women ran for president in 2016.

C. Functioning of Government

C1 0-4 pts

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Do the freely elected head of government and national legislativerepresentatives determine the policies of the government? 0

The country’s leadership is not freely elected, and the legislature serves as a rubberstamp for the executive branch.

C2 0-4 pts

Are safeguards against official corruption strong and effective? 0

Corruption is pervasive. Graft and bribery among low– and mid-level officials remaincommon and are at times conducted overtly and without subterfuge. Low-level andeveryday corruption among traffic police and officials granting identificationdocuments and registrations has been notably reduced by pilot programs tointroduce video surveillance and traffic cameras, however.

In 2019, President Mirziyoyev continued purging the notoriously corrupt securityand law enforcement services. In June, prosecutor general Otabek Murodov wasdismissed over accusations of graft and was detained in September; his case wasstill in progress at the end of 2019. One of Murodov’s predecessors as prosecutorgeneral, Rashid Kadirov, was also sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges ofcorruption in June. Ikhtiyor Abdullayev, who directly preceded Murodov asprosecutor general before becoming head of the powerful State Security Service(SSS), was removed from his security post in February and was charged withbribery in June. In September, Abdullayev was sentenced to 18 years in prison forcrimes including bribery, extortion, and for the use of illegal wiretaps to gainpolitical influence.

Analysts contend that the purge is largely intended to neutralize security officialsfrom the Karimov era and shift power to the president’s personal security serviceand to the reformed National Guard, both of which are overseen by Mirziyoyev’s in-laws.

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Media discussion of corrupt practices has cautiously expanded since Karimov’sdeath, but in some cases the journalists and commentators involved—rather thanthe corrupt officials—have come under pressure.

C3 0-4 pts

Does the government operate with openness and transparency? 1

Government operations remain mostly opaque, but one of Mirziyoyev’s first acts aspresident in late 2016 was the creation of new online mechanisms that offeredcitizens the opportunity to file complaints, report problems, and request services.The initial program was overwhelmingly popular and was quickly expanded to allministries and local government offices, requiring local officials to interact withcitizens and demonstrate responsiveness. The innovations contributed to a culturalchange in governance, though they frequently encountered resistance at the locallevel.

Civil Liberties

D. Freedom of Expression and

Belief

D1 0-4 pts

Are there free and independent media? 0

Despite constitutional guarantees, press freedom remains severely restricted. Thestate controls major media outlets and related facilities, and independent outletswere mostly shuttered or blocked under Karimov. Domestic media, including news

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websites and live television programs, now cautiously discuss social problems andcriticize local officials, reflecting a slight reduction in media repression sinceMirziyoyev took power. However, even privately-owned media outlets still avoidopenly criticizing Mirziyoyev and the government.

While the presence of independent international outlets is limited, several foreignreporters have been granted press passes since 2017. This trend continued in 2019,when a journalist working for the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) UzbekService was given accreditation. However, a radio journalist working for Radio FreeEurope/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) was denied entry into the country in June, after thestate information agency accused the news outlet of violating journalistic ethics.

The government reduced its reliance on internet blackouts against media outlets in2019; the websites of 11 news organizations and nongovernmental organizations(NGOs), including the BBC and Eurasianet, were made accessible in May. Access topopular social media sites like YouTube and Facebook became more reliable in early2019, after the government stopped blocking those sites at the end of 2018.

Under Mirziyoyev, a number of journalists have been released from prison, and 2018marked the first year in two decades that no journalists were imprisoned. However,one blogger received a jail sentence in 2019. In September, police in easternUzbekistan arrested Nodirbek Hojimatov and sentenced him to 10 days’imprisonment after he posted an open letter calling on the president to investigatelocal officials for corruption. The state also used the Soviet-era practice of forcedpsychiatric hospitalization against journalist Nafosat Olloshukurova in October 2019,after she covered a protest held by another journalist the month before.Olloshukurova claimed she was forced into a psychiatric facility after refusing to lieabout an opposition lawyer’s involvement in the protest and engaging in a hungerstrike; she was threatened with rape and permanent institutionalization before herrelease at the end of 2019.

In November 2019, an audio recording that captured powerful Tashkent mayorJahongir Ortikhhojaev threatening a journalist with physical harm was distributed,



prompting an investigation by the General Prosecutor’s office. While prosecutorsnoted that the mayor’s statements violated ethics rules for civil servants, theycleared Ortikhhojaev and instead warned news outlet Kun.uz that recording publicofficials without their permission was illegal.

D2 0-4 pts

Are individuals free to practice and express their religious faith ornonbelief in public and private? 0

The government permits the existence of approved Muslim, Jewish, and Christiandenominations, but treats unregistered religious activity as a criminal offense.Suspected members of banned Muslim organizations and their relatives have facedarrest, interrogation, and torture. Arrested believers are frequently accused offounding previously unknown religious organizations, a charge that carries highpenalties. In most cases, little evidence of the existence of such organizations ispresented at the closed trials. In 2017, Mirziyoyev announced that some 16,000individuals had been removed from a blacklist of roughly 17,000 people who hadbeen suspected or previously convicted of religious extremism. Individuals whowere placed on the blacklist were kept under close surveillance or on probation.

In 2019, Islamic activists and bloggers faced fewer arrests; many of the country’smost prominent activists were already arrested or jailed on administrative chargesin 2018 after criticizing a state decision to effectively ban the hijab in schools anduniversities.

D3 0-4 pts

Is there academic freedom, and is the educational system free fromextensive political indoctrination? 1

The government has long limited academic freedom, in part by controlling contactsbetween universities or scholars and foreign entities. Universities in Uzbekistan

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expanded their cooperation with foreign counterparts in 2019, but the governmentalso denied accreditation to staff for the American Councils for InternationalEducation, an academic exchange organization based in the United States. The staffmembers were originally encouraged to return to Uzbekistan during Mirziyoyev’sfirst state visit to the United States.

Presidential monographs that glorify the late former president Karimov are nolonger required reading at universities.

D4 0-4 pts

Are individuals free to express their personal views on political or othersensitive topics without fear of surveillance or retribution? 1

The freedom of private discussion has long been limited by mahalla committees,traditional neighborhood organizations that the government has transformed intoan official system for public surveillance and control. The government also engagesin extensive surveillance of electronic communications. However, through itsvarious reforms since 2016, the Mirziyoyev administration has signaled a greatertolerance for public criticism, modestly improving the climate for expression ofpersonal views on sensitive topics.

E. Associational and

Organizational Rights

E1 0-4 pts

Is there freedom of assembly? 0

Despite constitutional provisions for freedom of assembly, authorities severelyrestrict this right in practice, breaking up virtually all unsanctioned gatherings and

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detaining participants.

E2 0-4 pts

Is there freedom for nongovernmental organizations, particularly thosethat are engaged in human rights– and governance-related work? 1

Unregistered NGOs face severe repression and harassment. A new organizationdesigned to oversee the activities of registered NGOs, the Center for theDevelopment of Civil Society (CDCS), was formed in 2019. As the year ended, thegovernment drafted legislation that would mandate NGOs to cooperate with theCDCS and other agencies to facilitate government work, as opposed to their ownprograms.

The government remained unwilling to register local or international NGOs thataddress human rights issues in 2019. Huquqiy Tayanch (Legal Support), which worksto address the rights of prisoners, saw its application rejected in March. HumanRights Watch (HRW), which has been active in Uzbekistan since 2017, also remainedunregistered.

E3 0-4 pts

Is there freedom for trade unions and similar professional or labororganizations? 0

The Federation of Trade Unions is controlled by the state, and no genuinelyindependent union structures exist. Organized strikes are extremely rare.

F. Rule of Law

F1 0-4 pts

Is there an independent judiciary? 0

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The judiciary is subservient to the president. In 2017, however, a number of judicialreforms were enacted through constitutional and legislative amendments,establishing specific terms in office for judges and creating a Supreme JudicialCouncil (OSK) to oversee appointments and disciplinary action, among otherchanges. The council, whose chairperson is approved by the Senate on thepresident’s recommendation, replaced a commission that was directly subordinateto the president.

F2 0-4 pts

Does due process prevail in civil and criminal matters? 0

Due process guarantees remain extremely weak. Law enforcement authorities haveroutinely justified the arrest of suspected religious extremists or political opponentsby planting contraband, filing dubious charges of financial wrongdoing, or inventingwitness testimony. The Lawyers’ Chamber, a regulatory body with compulsorymembership, serves as a vehicle for state control over the legal profession. Thejudicial reforms adopted in 2017 gave judges rather than prosecutors the authorityto approve certain investigative steps, such as exhumations and some forms ofsurveillance.

F3 0-4 pts

Is there protection from the illegitimate use of physical force and freedomfrom war and insurgencies? 1

A 2016 law on police prohibits torture, and a 2017 presidential decree that barscourts from using evidence obtained through torture took effect in 2018. Despitethe reforms, reports of physical abuse against detainees remained continued toappear on social media in 2019.

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HRW also documented one case of psychological torture during the year. Formerdiplomat Kadyr Yusupov was arrested in late 2018 and was held on trial for treasonthroughout 2019. According to HRW, Yusupov was regularly threatened with hisrape, the rape of his wife and daughter, and the arrest of family members bysecurity personnel for a period spanning from December 2018 to March 2019.

Prisons suffer from severe overcrowding and shortages of food and medicine. Aswith detained suspects, prison inmates—particularly those sentenced for theirreligious beliefs—are often subjected to torture and other ill-treatment. Jaslyk(Youth) prison, a correctional facility where torture was especially widespread, wasordered closed by President Mirziyoyev in August 2019.

F4 0-4 pts

Do laws, policies, and practices guarantee equal treatment of varioussegments of the population? 0

Although racial and ethnic discrimination are prohibited by law, the belief thatsenior positions in government and business are reserved for ethnic Uzbeks iswidespread. Women’s educational and professional prospects are limited bydiscriminatory cultural and religious norms. Women are also barred from certainjobs under the labor code.

Sex between men is punishable with up to three years in prison. The law does notprotect LGBT+ people from discrimination, and social taboos deter the discussionof LGBT+ issues.

G. Personal Autonomy and

Individual Rights

G1 0-4 pts

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Do individuals enjoy freedom of movement, including the ability to changetheir place of residence, employment, or education? 1

Permission is required to move to a new city, and bribes are commonly paid toobtain the necessary documents. Bribes are also frequently required to gainentrance to and advance in exclusive universities. The government took steps toease travel within the country and to neighboring states beginning in 2017, when itremoved police checkpoints at internal borders, resumed direct flights to Tajikistan,and opened border crossings as part of an agreement with Kyrgyzstan. TheMirziyoyev administration abolished exit visas in January 2019, ending a system thatwas used to proscribe travel beyond other member states of the Commonwealth ofIndependent States (CIS).

G2 0-4 pts

Are individuals able to exercise the right to own property and establishprivate businesses without undue interference from state or nonstateactors?

1

Widespread corruption and extensive state control over the economy limit privatebusiness opportunities and make property rights tenuous in practice.

G3 0-4 pts

Do individuals enjoy personal social freedoms, including choice ofmarriage partner and size of family, protection from domestic violence,and control over appearance?

1

Victims of domestic violence are discouraged from pressing charges againstperpetrators, who rarely face prosecution. Rape is also seldom reported orprosecuted, and spousal rape is not explicitly criminalized. Extralegal child marriageis reportedly practiced in some areas.

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G4 0-4 pts

Do individuals enjoy equality of opportunity and freedom from economicexploitation? 1

Economic exploitation remains a serious problem, as does the trafficking of womenabroad for prostitution. A 2009 law imposed stronger penalties for child labor, andin 2012, Mirziyoyev, then the prime minister, pledged to end the practice completely.In 2017, the president issued a decree to formally ban forced agricultural labor bystudents, health workers, and teachers. During the subsequent cotton harvests, thegovernment increased incentives for voluntary labor and granted access tointernational observers. In 2018, the International Labor Organization (ILO) notedthat 93 percent of cotton workers were voluntarily employed for that year’s harvest,while child labor was not an issue. Nevertheless, local officials still faced pressure tomeet government quotas, and reports of adult forced labor and abuse of workerspersisted. Some local officials who employed forced labor were prosecuted andfined during 2019.

In October 2019, President Mirziyoyev dismissed Deputy Prime Minister ZoyyirMirzayev after photographs of cotton farmers being forced to stand in coldirrigation ditches as punishment for a poor harvest were widely condemned onsocial media. Mirzayev was present during the incident, and reportedly insulted thefarmers as they stood in the knee-deep water.

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Freedom in the World 2020 Uzbekistan

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