Flag Incident Prompts Legal Consequences for Young Man

Yesterday, on 5th May, a video circulated on social networks depicting a young man being taken away by officers from the Internal Affairs Department.  The incident reportedly occurred in the Qamashi district of the Kashkadarya region.  The video was filmed by local blogger Odil Elmurod from Kashkadarya.

The video shows the young man purchasing a lanyard with the word "Graduate" on it at a school supplies market and wearing it on his shoulder.  However, the nearby officers from the Department of Internal Affairs claimed that his action violated the law, leading to a disagreement between them.

The information service of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Kashkadarya region provided details about the incident to QALAMPIR.UZ.  According to their report, on 5th of May 2023, a citizen wearing the flag of the Republic of Uzbekistan at the Chim farmer's market in the Qamashi district was stopped by officers from the Department of Internal Affairs.  The officers explained that carrying the flag in such a manner was against the requirements of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On State Symbols" and requested the citizen to remove it to show respect for state symbols.  However, the citizen resisted the legal requirements of the officers.

As a result, a preventive interview was conducted with R.I., a resident of the Qamashi district.  The Department of Internal Affairs issued documents to the citizen in accordance with the relevant articles of the Code of Administrative Responsibility of the Republic of Uzbekistan.  The collected documents were subsequently sent to the Kamashi District Court for criminal cases to reach a legal conclusion, as mentioned in the provided information.

It is important to note that in previous legislation covered by QALAMPIR.UZ, the use of images of the state coat of arms and flag on household items and other goods, under the guise of "patriotism," is considered disrespectful to the state symbols of the Republic of Uzbekistan.  An article regarding the penalties for such actions was published to raise awareness of this matter.