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Animal Welfare

Uzbekistan Drafts New Law to Strengthen Animal Protection

Lawmakers in Uzbekistan are preparing a draft law aimed at strengthening protections for animals and addressing animal cruelty more systematically, according to the Ecological Party’s faction in the Legislative Chamber. Despite a reported decline in incidents in recent years, cases of animal cruelty continue to be reported, often without a clear motive and sometimes for entertainment, the party said. Deputies argue that existing measures, although recently tightened, remain insufficient to fully address the problem. On March 25, Uzbekistan adopted amendments increasing penalties for animal cruelty. Under the revised rules, offenders may face fines ranging from 15 to 25 times the base calculation amount (approximately $34) or up to 15 days of administrative detention. However, lawmakers say these measures should be complemented by a broader legal framework. The new draft law, titled “On the Protection of Animals from Cruel Treatment,” is being developed as a comprehensive response. According to the party, it draws on international experience and is designed not only to punish violations but also to prevent them. Among its key provisions is a clearer legal definition of acts constituting animal cruelty, along with stricter prohibitions. The draft also proposes revising criminal liability, including increasing fines to up to 200 times the base calculation amount (approximately $6,775) or introducing prison sentences of up to one year. In addition, the legislation would require offenders to fully cover veterinary treatment costs for injured animals, even if those costs exceed the animal’s market value. It also outlines responsibilities for pet owners, including proper care and a ban on abandoning animals. The draft includes provisions to support the development of pet-friendly public spaces and proposes legal recognition of guide dogs and emotional support animals in public transport. It also emphasizes education and public awareness through schools and media to encourage more humane treatment of animals.

Prisoner Transfer

Russia Ready to Transfer Over 3,000 Uzbek Prisoners

Russia is prepared to facilitate the transfer of more than 3,000 Uzbek citizens convicted on its territory to serve their sentences in Uzbekistan, but the process remains stalled due to legal obstacles, Kommersant reported, citing Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova. Speaking at a meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Human Rights Commission, Moskalkova said Russia is willing to support the transfer mechanism. However, she noted that Uzbekistan cannot currently accept the prisoners because it has not ratified the 1998 Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. “Russia is ready to assist, but the country of citizenship cannot accept them due to the lack of ratification of the convention,” she said, according to RIA Novosti. The agreement allows individuals convicted in one participating country to serve their sentences in their home country. It is intended to support rehabilitation and improve humanitarian conditions by allowing individuals to remain closer to their families and social environment. Russia ratified the convention in 1998, and it is also in force in several countries in the region, including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Armenia. For Uzbek nationals, however, Uzbekistan’s absence from the treaty has prevented similar transfers. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, in 2025, 191 Uzbek citizens applied for asylum in Russia, highlighting shifting migration patterns and increasing pressure on legal and humanitarian systems in the region.

Kashagan

Kazakhstan–Kashagan Dispute Heads to International Arbitration

Kazakhstan’s Vice Minister of Justice, Daniel Vaisov, announced that the country’s claims over the removal of sulfur storage limits at the Kashagan field, operated by North Caspian Operating Company N.V. (NCOC), will be heard under the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes framework, which is headquartered in Washington. NCOC includes Shell, TotalEnergies, Eni, ExxonMobil, CNPC, Inpex, and KazMunayGas. In March 2023, an inspection of the Kashagan consortium by Kazakhstan’s environmental authorities identified violations of environmental legislation, including the excessive storage of sulfur volumes exceeding permitted limits. The resulting claim was valued at around $5 billion, according to the authorities. A court of first instance in Kazakhstan ruled in favor of the environmental authorities, according to Vaisov. Six of the seven NCOC participants, excluding KazMunayGas, challenged the ruling in a Kazakh court in March this year. At the same time, the foreign investors initiated international arbitration proceedings. “This claim was filed under bilateral international agreements: the agreement between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of France, and the agreement between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kingdom of the Netherlands,” Vaisov said during a briefing. The Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Ecology, and Ministry of Energy are jointly handling the case. Kazakhstan has been steadily tightening its position in major energy projects, seeking a larger share of revenues from fields developed under production-sharing agreements signed in the 1990s. Disputes over Kashagan and Karachaganak reflect broader efforts to rebalance terms with foreign investors as production stabilizes and fiscal pressures grow. The outcome of these cases could reshape how Central Asia’s largest economy manages foreign participation in its energy sector. A separate dispute concerning project costs, reportedly exceeding $100 billion, is being handled under the framework of the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA), in line with government policy, Vaisov said. Kazakhstan maintains that under the current terms, participating oil companies receive up to 98% of revenue from oil production at Kashagan, leaving the state with comparatively limited income in the form of royalties. Astana’s claim related to this issue has been reported at approximately $160 billion. “As far as I know, an interim decision has been made regarding Karachaganak. Further work is currently underway,” Vaisov said. In January 2026, an international arbitration tribunal ruled in favor of Kazakhstan in its dispute with shareholders in the Karachaganak Oil and Gas Projects, Eni, Shell, Chevron, and Lukoil. Compensation for the shareholders’ unjustified reimbursement of expenses has yet to be determined, but experts estimate it at between $2 billion and $4 billion. Vaisov also noted that Kazakhstan has been reducing the cost of arbitration proceedings involving foreign investors. “The Ministry of Justice has managed to reduce spending on these matters each year. Since 2021, costs have been reduced by nearly threefold. At the same time, the Republic of Kazakhstan engages leading law firms for these proceedings, as contracting companies do the same,” he said.

Crocus City Hall

Appeals Filed Against Life Sentences in Crocus City Hall Attack Case

Lawyers representing those convicted of carrying out the 2024 attack at Crocus City Hall have filed appeals against the court’s verdict, arguing that the sentences are excessively harsh, Russian state media reported. According to Russia’s state news agency TASS, defense attorneys have submitted initial appeals on behalf of the main perpetrators and several accomplices following a ruling by the 2nd Western District Military Court. Earlier, the Russian outlet RBC reported that the four gunmen who carried out the attack were sentenced to life imprisonment. The court ruled that they would serve extended initial terms in prison under the strictest conditions before being transferred to high-security penal colonies. In addition to life sentences, the defendants were ordered to pay fines of nearly 1 million rubles (approximately $12,139) each. The court also handed down severe sentences to a number of accomplices. Several received life terms, while others were given lengthy prison sentences of more than 20 years. Financial penalties imposed on accomplices ranged from hundreds of thousands to several million rubles. The attack took place on March 22, 2024, in Krasnogorsk, in the Moscow Region. According to investigators, armed assailants entered the concert venue, opened fire on the audience, and set the building on fire. The assault left 149 people dead and more than 550 injured, and the venue was largely destroyed. During the trial, which lasted around seven months, prosecutors had requested life sentences for the main perpetrators along with substantial fines. They argued that the defendants had undergone training for terrorist activities, illegally handled weapons, and participated in a terrorist organization. At the same time, lawyers representing victims expressed dissatisfaction with parts of the ruling. As cited by RBC, some legal representatives said they had sought even stricter prison conditions for the perpetrators, including longer periods in high-security prisons before transfer to penal colonies. Under Russian law, sentences served in prisons differ significantly from those served in penal colonies. Prison regimes are typically stricter, with limited visitation rights, reduced access to parcels, and tighter daily controls. Both the defense and representatives of victims are now seeking to challenge aspects of the verdict through the appeals process.

Internet Regulation

Kazakhstan Plans to Introduce Social Media Monitoring

Kazakhstan plans to introduce a system for monitoring the information space in order to identify illegal online content. This was reported by the country’s Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA). The agency has drafted rules on monitoring the information space aimed at detecting unlawful content, including on the internet, and enabling subsequent measures to restrict access to it. The draft document has been published on the Open Regulatory Acts portal. According to the proposal, monitoring would cover information published in open sources, including websites, social networks, messaging platforms, mass media outlets, and other information and communication channels. The Financial Monitoring Agency would be responsible for carrying out the monitoring. If unlawful content is identified, the agency would be able to initiate further response measures. “If the posting of illegal content is established, the authorized financial monitoring body, within the limits of its competence and in the presence of signs of a criminal offense, shall take the measures provided for by the country’s criminal procedure legislation,” the document states. If no signs of a criminal offense are found, the materials would be forwarded to other authorized bodies in order to hold the authors administratively liable. In both cases, if criminal or administrative violations are identified and the materials fall under restrictions established by Kazakhstan’s legislation or by court decisions that have entered into force, the agency would notify the authorized body responsible for mass media regulation. Following such notification, a decision could be made to block the relevant content. These notifications would be transmitted through the state information system. The draft rules were prepared on the basis of subparagraph 15 of Article 16 of the Law “On the Prevention of Offenses,” adopted on December 30, 2025. The new regulations are expected to take effect once the relevant normative legal act enters into force. According to the Financial Monitoring Agency, the introduction of the monitoring system is intended to improve the effectiveness of crime prevention in the digital environment. The rules are also expected to establish a clearer mechanism for interagency cooperation in identifying and restricting illegal online content. The Times of Central Asia previously reported that Kazakhstan outperformed several post-Soviet countries in the 2026 global internet freedom ranking published by the research agency Cloudwards, although within Central Asia it ranked behind Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Police

Tajik Police to Patrol Dushanbe on Electric Scooters

Police officers in Dushanbe have been equipped with electric scooters to patrol the streets of the Tajik capital. The Ministry of Internal Affairs said the initiative is intended to improve police efficiency and strengthen public safety. “In order to enhance security and maintain public order, police officers in the capital have been provided with electric patrol scooters,” the ministry said in an official statement. The new scooters are fitted with special equipment required for law enforcement duties, including signal beacons and sound systems. According to the ministry, the scooters can travel up to 100 kilometers on a single charge, making them suitable for daily patrols. “In the future, police officers in the capital will use these scooters in public spaces. This will help improve the effectiveness of police work and contribute to a greater sense of safety among residents,” the statement added. The use of compact electric transport in policing is becoming increasingly widespread. Such solutions enable officers to move more quickly in pedestrian areas, parks, and crowded locations where the use of patrol cars may be impractical. A similar approach has already been tested in Kazakhstan. At the end of August 2025, a large-scale operation was conducted in Almaty to monitor compliance with regulations on electric scooter use. Fifty police officers on electric scooters took part. The Almaty Police Department said that using this type of transport allowed officers to respond more quickly to offenses. According to police representatives, electric scooters help officers operate efficiently in crowded areas and in locations that are difficult for vehicles to access, while also facilitating preventive engagement with the public. Officials say that the pilot initiative was successful. Following the initial operations, discussions began on the possibility of introducing electric transport as a permanent feature of urban policing.