Chilanzar district criminal court in Tashkent sentenced former district kengash (council) deputy and blogger Kabul Dusov to one year of restricted freedom on 22 November, press service of Uzbekistan’s Supreme Сourt said.
Dusov was found guilty for insulting deputy minister of preschool and school education Farhod Bokiev under article 140, part 3(a) of the Criminal Code (insulting someone in connection with the performance of their official or civil duties). The punishment under this article ranges from a fine of 400 to 600 base calculation units ($10,590 to $15,890) to corrective labor for 2 to 3 years or up to 1 year of restricted freedom.
The court based its verdict on a range of evidence, including statements from the victim, witness testimonies, forensic linguistic analysis, screenshots of posts, inspection protocols of Dusov’s social media profiles on Facebook and Telegram and the findings of a comprehensive forensic examination, according to the Supreme Сourt.
Under the ruling, Dusov faces the maximum sentence under this article. During one year, he is prohibited from leaving his residence between 9 PM and 7 AM, using the internet, attending public events or changing his place of residence without permission.
He must also report monthly to the probation office.
Dusov accepted the court’s decision, stating he had no objections. At the same time, he wrote on his Telegram channel: “This does not mean that a final resolution has been reached or that the matter is entirely closed.”
He criticized what he described as “double standards” in the application of laws, claiming that officials who insult ordinary citizens face only minor fines, while maximum penalties are imposed on individuals who criticize officials.
Kabul Dusov has criticized the educational system, frequently posting about the shortcomings and sharing complaints from teachers. He alleged that the deputy minister opposed teachers and students wearing headscarves and unjustly dismissed several teachers in Syrdarya. He also accused the ministry of financial and administrative violations.
At the same time, he made inflammatory and offensive remarks about minister Hilola Umarova and her deputy Farhod Bokiev, including explicit language.
This is not Dusov’s first legal confrontation with the education ministry. In 2020, the ministry filed a lawsuit against him over his statements, and the court ordered him to issue a retraction.
Dusov, formerly a deputy from Tashkent’s Bostanlyk district, is known for his controversial posts on Facebook. In one post, he claimed that “if women and children dominate politics, it means the country is nearing collapse”.
In June 2019, he also expressed opposition to the idea of a female president, arguing that “women think less effectively than men” and that “a country’s development depends on men’s rational decision-making, free from emotional fluctuations”.
