A detainee's right not to speak is strengthened by the Constitution

It is expected that the use of the right to remain silent by persons arrested in Uzbekistan will be strengthened by the Constitution.  MP Jahangir Shirinov spoke about this today, 9 March, at the plenary session of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis.

At the plenary session, a decision is expected to be taken “On conducting a referendum of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the draft Constitutional Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan”.

According to the draft law, in order to further expand the scope of the “habeas corpus” institution, it is determined that a person cannot be detained for more than 48 hours without a court order, listening to telephone conversations and conducting a search can be carried out only with the permission of the court.

At the same time, Miranda rights, such as keeping silent and other rights of the detained person, as well as explaining the grounds of detention in simple language from the first second, as well as the fact that no one is obliged to testify against himself and his close relatives, are being defined at the level of the constitution.

“These rules protect people from unjust criminal prosecution and illegal actions of certain investigative bodies.  And pay attention that these rules are defined not only in the sectoral laws, but in the highest document – the Constitution,” said MP Jahangir Shirinov, who explained them.

It is also noted that norms aimed at increasing the role of lawyers in the protection of human rights and ensuring that they operate on the basis of the principle of equal weight with prosecutors are being introduced.

“Pay attention!  Just as the constitutional norms related to the prosecutor’s office are reflected in a separate chapter, a new chapter dedicated to the attorney’s office is being included in our Constitution,” says Shirinov.