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Illegal Migration

Uzbekistan Proposes Up to 15 Years in Prison for Organizing Illegal Migration

Uzbekistan wants to introduce a separate criminal offense for organizers of illegal migration, carrying penalties of up to 15 years in prison. The proposal comes at a time when large numbers of Uzbeks continue to work abroad, with Russia still the largest destination, even as conditions for migrant workers there become increasingly restrictive and risky. The draft amendments are open for public discussion until September 8. They would create a new criminal offense for organizing or assisting illegal migration for financial gain, including arranging unlawful border crossings or transit through Uzbekistan. Penalties would start at three to five years in prison or restricted liberty and could rise to 10–15 years in the most serious cases, including those involving large sums of money or danger to people’s lives or health. Article 223 of the Criminal Code already criminalizes unlawful border crossings, entry, and departure, but there is no separate article targeting those who organize or facilitate illegal migration for profit. The issue is particularly sensitive for Uzbekistan because of the scale of labor migration. Russia remains the main foreign labor market for Uzbek citizens. According to the latest Uzbek data, around 1.4 million citizens are working abroad, including about 834,200 in Russia. Conditions for migrants in Russia, meanwhile, are becoming more restrictive. Checks on migrants have intensified, while Russian federal and regional authorities have tightened restrictions on foreign workers in a number of sectors. Tashkent has also warned of citizens being recruited into armed conflicts and foreign military service. Such cases are already reaching Uzbek courts. In February 2026, a court sentenced a 38-year-old Uzbek citizen to three years and one month in prison for participating in the war in Ukraine on Russia’s side. The man told the court that after being detained for violating migration rules, he was offered a military contract under threat of deportation. He was found guilty of mercenary activity and entering military or similar service for a foreign state. Tashkent has repeatedly warned its citizens that service in foreign militaries can result in criminal prosecution. At the same time, Uzbek authorities are increasingly having to intervene following migration raids and disputes involving Russian law enforcement agencies. After a raid on a cafe in Khabarovsk in December 2025, where Central Asian migrants were reportedly injured, Uzbekistan sent Russia a diplomatic note requesting an investigation. Remittances remain an important source of income for Uzbek families. In the first half of 2026, Uzbekistan received $9.3 billion in cross-border remittances, up 13% from a year earlier. Tashkent therefore has to balance preserving access to its citizens’ largest foreign labor market, protecting their rights, and combating illegal intermediaries.

Psychology

Psychologists in Kyrgyzstan Face New Regulation Push

Parents in Kyrgyzstan have been contacting member of parliament Elvira Surabaldieva with a basic question: the person counseling their child online calls themselves a psychologist, but are they actually qualified? There is currently no unified system through which families can check. The authorities now want to establish uniform rules for psychologists for the first time. The bill is being prepared by member of parliament Elvira Surabaldieva. The initiative followed requests from parents and other citizens who wanted to verify the qualifications of people offering psychological services online. According to Surabaldieva, some begin providing consultations after two- or three-month courses, while consultations can cost between 3,000 and 10,000 som ($34-$114) per session. Social media has made it considerably easier to enter the psychological services market. To a potential client, a polished page and thousands of followers can appear as convincing as professional qualifications. There is often no straightforward way to verify a consultant’s education and experience before the first session. Work with children is particularly sensitive. Surabaldieva said parents had approached her specifically because their children were receiving online consultations and they wanted to know whether the practitioners involved were properly qualified. The bill proposes establishing the professional status of psychologists in law. Exactly what education will be required remains under discussion. The working group is considering conventional psychology degrees as well as possible routes for people with qualifications in other fields who subsequently receive additional psychology training. Surabaldieva has argued, however, that completing several short-term courses alone should not be enough to qualify someone as a professional psychologist. The second proposal is a unified registry. Before seeking a consultation, clients would be able to check a specialist’s education, qualifications, and professional experience. But that raises another question: who should decide who is qualified to practice? An interagency working group began a clause-by-clause review of the legislation in Bishkek in early August. One option under discussion would give professional bodies a role in assessing applicants. Surabaldieva supports keeping the registry under state oversight rather than transferring that authority to private professional associations. The proposal would therefore give the state a new role in determining who can present themselves as a qualified psychologist. So far, however, there appears to have been little public discussion of whether tighter requirements could reduce the number of practitioners or increase the cost of consultations. Another point of debate concerns people with years of practical experience whose education may not meet the future requirements. That is particularly important because some state institutions already employ psychologists whose original training was in fields such as education or social work. The working group is considering a transition period of two or three years, giving experienced practitioners time to meet the new standards rather than forcing them to leave the profession immediately. Kyrgyzstan is not alone in facing this problem. A 2025 conference abstract published by European Psychiatry describes inadequate regulation of psychological services in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, which has allowed underqualified practitioners, often with only short-term training, to advertise themselves as...

Bloggers’ Rights

Uzbekistan’s New Bloggers’ Council Has No Confirmed Leader

Uzbekistan’s Union of Journalists says it plans to help bloggers when officials refuse to provide information or when they face pressure over their work. The proposal follows several prosecutions of bloggers known for reporting on alleged local corruption or criticizing public officials. The initiative immediately encountered a leadership problem: one day after the Creative Council of Bloggers was announced, the blogger expected to lead it said he had declined the position. The Union of Journalists announced the council on August 7, saying the decision reflected the growing role of bloggers in Uzbekistan. According to the union, bloggers increasingly compete with traditional media for audiences and influence public debate. The council is expected to advise bloggers on legal issues, including cases in which officials obstruct access to information or third parties apply pressure. It also plans training in media law and ethics, along with digital security and media literacy. Shukhratjon Oripov, acting chairman of the Union of Journalists, said bloggers had become independent participants in the country’s information landscape. The council’s leadership remains unclear. Journalist and blogger Eldar Asanov was initially named for the post. On August 8, however, Asanov said he had received the offer but declined it. He said he had proposed that the Union of Journalists establish a bloggers’ club instead. Gazeta.uz subsequently corrected its original report. Among the bloggers prosecuted in recent years are Otabek Sattoriy and Olimjon Khaidarov, both of whom had reported allegations of local corruption. Sattoriy, founder of the YouTube channel Xalq Fikri, or People’s Opinion, covered social and economic problems in the Surkhandarya region. Shortly before his arrest, he was reporting on farmers whose land had allegedly been seized by a senior local official and transferred to a company owned by businessman and senator Murtazo Rakhmatov. On May 10, 2021, Sattoriy was convicted on four counts of extortion and one count of slander and sentenced to six and a half years in prison. On February 5, 2024, after about three years behind bars, a court released him and replaced the remainder of his sentence with correctional labor, with 20% of his earnings to be withheld for the state. On December 1, 2023, a court in the Ferghana region sentenced blogger Olimjon Khaidarov to eight years in prison on a large-scale extortion charge and speech-related charges of slander and insult. Khaidarov, who had nearly 30,000 YouTube followers, was known locally for reporting allegations of corruption and criticizing local authorities. One slander charge concerned a claim by the mayor of Kokand that a post about the off-the-books sale of parking spaces had defamed him. Police alleged that Khaidarov had demanded $10,000 from the head of Kokand’s Istiklal bazaar in exchange for withholding negative coverage and said he was detained while receiving the final $2,500. Khaidarov denied wrongdoing and said he had been set up in retaliation for his reporting. Human Rights Watch described his conviction as the latest in a series of criminal cases against bloggers and journalists in Uzbekistan. In Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF)...

Kamchybek Tashiyev

Kyrgyz Prosecutors Seek Nine-Year Prison Terms for Tashiyev and Seven Others

Kyrgyz prosecutors are asking an appeals court to send former security chief Kamchybek Tashiyev and seven other defendants to prison. A lower court convicted all eight in July of preparing to seize power by force, but allowed them to remain free on probation. The appeal is being heard by the Bishkek City Court, with the hearing taking place behind closed doors. Prosecutors are challenging the sentences handed down by the trial court. The “Letter of 75” case arose from an open letter signed on February 9 by 75 politicians, former officials, and public figures. The authors called for an early presidential election amid a dispute over when President Sadyr Japarov’s current term should end. Five of the signatories were among the eight people later charged with preparing to seize power by force. Before his dismissal, Tashiyev had been one of Kyrgyzstan’s most powerful officials and a central figure in Japarov’s government. Japarov appointed his longtime ally to lead the State Committee for National Security (GKNB) after coming to power in 2020, but dismissed him on February 10, 2026, saying the move was needed to “prevent a split in society” and state institutions. The dismissal ended a five-year governing partnership and was followed by personnel changes across the GKNB and other state bodies. Eight people eventually stood trial, including Tashiyev, former Prosecutor General Kurmankul Zulushev, and former parliamentary speaker Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu. The trial court found all eight guilty and sentenced them to four years in prison with confiscation of property, but exempted them from serving the prison terms and placed them under supervised probation for three years. They were acquitted of the separate charge of abuse of office. The Times of Central Asia previously reported in detail on the verdict and the circumstances surrounding the case. Prosecutors had sought nine-year prison terms at the original trial. According to defense lawyers, they are now asking the appeals court to impose the same terms on all eight defendants. Some of the defendants have also appealed their convictions and are seeking acquittal. During the appeal, the defendants again raised one of the disputed issues in the case: why criminal proceedings targeted only some of the people involved when the open letter had 75 signatories. Five defendants who had signed the letter asked the court to give a legal assessment of the actions of the other 70 signatories. The appeals panel granted the request and agreed that the other signatories could be called for questioning, with the defense responsible for securing their attendance. If prosecutors prevail, the appeal would reverse the main practical outcome of the July trial: all eight defendants were convicted of preparing to seize power by force, but none was sent to prison.

Cybersecurity

Kazakhstan Examines Data Leak Claim Involving 15 Million People

A database allegedly containing the personal information of 15 million people in Kazakhstan has appeared on the dark web. The seller is asking 0.5 bitcoin, about $32,000, for a dataset containing tens of millions of records. The seller claims the information was obtained after hacking the government’s eGov portal. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development has not confirmed that account. Specialists are examining samples of the database and trying to determine where the data came from. The sale was reported by the Russian Telegram channel Mash. According to the channel, the file is about 2.7 GB and contains 47 million rows. Its description lists passport details, phone numbers, email addresses, places of employment, passwords, and scans of documents. The claim that the database contains information on 15 million people has not been independently confirmed. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development disputes the allegation that eGov was hacked. It said a preliminary review had found no evidence that government e-services were breached, and that officials were examining samples of the data to determine where they came from. The ministry has also questioned parts of the database description. For example, eGov does not store scanned copies of passports in the form described by the seller, while digital documents have a different structure. The allegation follows at least two other major cases involving personal data in the past 14 months. In June 2025, around 16 million records containing the names, individual identification numbers, addresses, and phone numbers of Kazakhstani citizens were found to be publicly accessible. The Health Ministry later said the dataset had been compiled from various sources, possibly including the information systems of medical organizations. It said any information originating from medical systems dated from before April 1, 2024. The Digital Ministry later reported that the investigation had found no signs of a direct hack. According to the ministry, much of the information had been extracted in 2022, possibly by someone with legitimate access to personal data or by a third party using credentials that had been shared or stolen. The investigation into that leak has still not been completed. In April 2026, the National Security Committee said the criminal case remained under investigation. The agency disclosed no further details, citing the confidentiality of the investigation. The allegation comes just two months after police seized another large database containing personal information on nearly 16 million Kazakhstanis from employees of a collection agency in the Zhetysu region. It is not known whether the two datasets are connected. Investigators must therefore establish whether the database offered for sale is authentic and how recent its contents are. The 2025 case showed how information from different sources and different years can be combined into a single database, meaning a large file offered for sale does not necessarily represent a new breach. There is reason to take such reports seriously. According to KZ-CERT data cited by research agency Finprom, Kazakhstan recorded 9,400 information security incidents in the first three months of 2026. Nearly...

Islam and National Identity

Dombra Dispute and Niqab Bans Fuel Religious Debate in Central Asia

Standing before a court in Aktobe in June, 35-year-old Azat Konys apologized to “the entire Kazakh people” for insulting one of the country’s most cherished cultural symbols. Two months earlier, during a TikTok livestream, he had declared the dombra forbidden under Islam, compared the two-stringed instrument to part of the devil’s anatomy and called clerics from Kazakhstan’s official Islamic authority “dogs of hell.” Konys asked the court not to imprison him. The judge instead sentenced him to three years and six months for inciting religious and national hatred. The controversy began when Konys cited the Hanafi school of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence, the dominant legal tradition among Muslims in Kazakhstan, to argue that the dombra and other stringed instruments, including the guitar and balalaika, were haram, meaning forbidden under Islamic law. The remarks caused particular anger because the dombra is more than a musical instrument in Kazakhstan: it has accompanied oral poetry and storytelling for generations and is officially celebrated as a symbol of cultural heritage and national identity. Police identified Konys after clips from the livestream circulated on social media and detained him in April. The case is an unusually stark example of how online religious disputes are spilling into legal and political life across Central Asia. Arguments that might once have remained within mosques or religious communities are now spreading through social media, forcing governments and official Islamic authorities alike to decide where religious expression ends and attacks on national culture begin. A more recent controversy arose in Kazakhstan’s Turkestan Region, where a 66-year-old guest at a toi, a traditional wedding feast, called for stricter adherence to Islamic law. He urged the organizers to separate men and women and remove music and alcohol from the celebration, while describing musicians as “heralds of Satan.” The video spread rapidly on social media, prompting nationwide debate. The man was detained and placed in a temporary detention facility for incitement of religious and social hatred. In a statement, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said that freedom of expression does not extend to statements that degrade the dignity of others or could provoke religious or social hostility. The Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan (SAMK), the country’s main official Muslim body, later issued its own response. It stated that Islam does not prohibit music in itself and stressed that publicly insulting artists or women is inconsistent with Islamic ethics. Another controversy centered on Nauryz, the spring equinox holiday celebrated throughout Central Asia and across much of the Turkic and Iranian cultural world. In March, a blogger in the Almaty Region described the holiday as “non-Muslim” and argued that it should not be celebrated. Police opened a criminal case against him on suspicion of inciting religious hatred. Kazakhstan’s Prosecutor General’s Office subsequently warned of legal liability for statements attacking Nauryz and other national traditions. The SAMK, meanwhile, publicly celebrated Nauryz as a national holiday promoting social harmony and charitable acts. The debate soon spread beyond social media into politics and the entertainment industry. Producer and television presenter Bayan Alaguzova said...