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Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying in Central Asia: What Legal Protections Are There?

Cyberbullying has long ceased to be merely an argument on the internet. Insults, harassment in chats, the publication of humiliating photos and videos, coordinated mockery, threats, and the spread of false information can cause harm comparable to offline violence. In Central Asia, the problem is becoming increasingly visible, but legal responses still vary significantly. As of 2026, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have incorporated bullying and cyberbullying into legislation more directly, while Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan continue to address such cases mainly through general provisions on insult, defamation, threats, child protection, and internet regulation. Kazakhstan has taken the most explicit legislative approach to cyberbullying. The law introduced an official definition: cyberbullying is understood as systematic actions, that is, actions committed two or more times of a humiliating nature against a child, including persecution and intimidation using internet resources. The law also grants a citizen or the legal representative of a child the right to submit a complaint to the authorized body regarding instances of cyberbullying against a child, specifying the relevant internet resource. At the same time, laws on children’s rights and education have formally incorporated the concept of child bullying, including acts committed through media and telecommunications networks. A further step was taken in 2024, when Article 127-2 (“Bullying of a Minor”) was added to Kazakhstan’s Code of Administrative Offenses. It provides for a warning or a fine, with higher penalties for repeated violations within a year. In December 2024, Kazinform reported that Kazakhstan became the first country in Central Asia to establish specific liability for the bullying and cyberbullying of children in a separate legal provision, which entered into force on June 16, 2024. It is also significant that the provision is now being applied in practice. According to data released in February 2026 by the Deputy Chair of the Committee for the Protection of Children’s Rights, around 200 cases of bullying and cyberbullying against children had been recorded in 2025. This figure is important not only in itself; it indicates that the state has begun systematically recording such incidents and that victims and their families are more likely to seek protection. The main strength of the Kazakh model is its clarity. The law explicitly defines the problem, outlines complaint procedures, and establishes specific liability. Its main limitation lies in implementation: as with domestic violence legislation, effectiveness depends on how prepared schools, parents, law enforcement, and online platforms are to apply it in practice. Uzbekistan: Cyberbullying Within the Child Protection Framework In Uzbekistan, there is no separate legal provision titled “cyberbullying,” but the country has taken a significant step in terms of child protection. The Law “On the Protection of Children from All Forms of Violence,” adopted on November 14, 2024, and in force since May 15, 2025, explicitly recognizes bullying as a form of violence against children. The law defines such violence as actions, including those carried out through telecommunications networks and the internet, that cause or may cause physical or psychological harm. The definition of bullying explicitly includes...

Tajik-Afghan Border

Tajikistan Says Two Afghan Smugglers Killed After Crossing Border

Security forces in Tajikistan killed two alleged drug smugglers from Afghanistan who crossed the border overnight, the Tajik government said on Friday. The incursion happened around 1 a.m. in the Farkhor district of the Khatlon region, and border guards and other national security troops disrupted the attempt to smuggle 25 kilograms of hashish, Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security said. “The smugglers disobeyed the border patrol's lawful demands to surrender and offered armed resistance,” the committee said, according to state news agency Khovar. It said two of the smugglers were killed during “the combat operation” and that a third suspect escaped in the darkness. The committee described the situation at the border with Afghanistan as “under control.” On April 8, delegates from border agencies of some countries belonging to the Commonwealth of Independent States, a regional group linked by past Soviet ties, assessed the Afghanistan situation during a meeting in Tajikistan. “There is general agreement that the unstable military-political and economic situation in Afghanistan will have a destructive impact on border security in the Central Asian region in the medium term,” the agencies said. Last year, a number of Chinese workers in Tajikistan were killed in cross-border attacks from Afghanistan, prompting the Chinese government to urge the Tajik government to take more robust steps to protect Chinese citizens and businesses. At the time, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and senior security officials discussed ways to strengthen the southern border with Afghanistan, whose ruling Taliban movement promised to help find the attackers. The border between the two countries is rugged and mountainous in many places and is about 1,370 kilometers long, making it difficult to monitor.

Stalking

Stalking in Kazakhstan: Why People Have Only Started Talking About It Now

Until recently, stalking in Kazakhstan was widely perceived as something more typical of movies, TV dramas, or social media discussions than of everyday life. Persistent phone calls, dozens of messages, or being followed near one’s home or workplace were often not seen as a serious threat. Such behavior was frequently excused with phrases like “he just can’t let go,” “he’s just being too persistent in courting her,” or “that’s how he shows his feelings.” But in recent years, attitudes toward this issue have begun to change, and on September 16, 2025, amendments came into force in Kazakhstan, introducing a separate Article 115-1, “Stalking,” into the Criminal Code. Under this article, stalking is defined as the unlawful pursuit of a person, expressed in attempts to establish contact with and/or track them against their will, without the use of violence, but causing substantial harm. What Exactly Is Considered Stalking? In practice, stalking is not limited to following someone on the street. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs includes repeated phone calls, constant messaging, intrusive attempts to establish contact, harassment through social media, and other actions against a person’s will in this category. Official explanations also state that stalking may include threats, insults, defamation, online surveillance, reading private correspondence, monitoring through cameras, and GPS trackers. All of this causes fear, anxiety, and a sense of insecurity. For a long time, society did not view stalking as a separate problem for several reasons. First, many people still held the dangerous belief that persistence is almost normal, especially in the context of former relationships or attempts to “win over” someone’s attention. Second, psychological harm was often underestimated: if there were no bruises or obvious physical violence, it was assumed that there was no serious problem. Third, before a separate article appeared in the law, it was harder for people to explain exactly what was happening to them and why it deserved a legal response. The introduction of a clear legal norm helped call the problem by its proper name, and this matters not only for the police and courts, but also for the victims themselves. What Changed After the Law Was Adopted? In reality, stalking is not about feelings and not about “love that is too strong.” Its purpose is control, intrusion into another person’s personal boundaries, and forcing one’s presence upon them. The Ministry of Internal Affairs directly emphasizes that such actions cause serious harm to personal safety and psychological well-being. Stalking causes fear, stress, and anxiety about one’s life and health, and in some cases may escalate into more serious crimes, including violence, bodily harm, or property damage. The introduction of Article 115-1 showed that the state no longer regards intrusive harassment as something minor or as “a private story between two people.” The penalties for stalking include a fine of up to 200 monthly calculation indices (MCI), community service for up to 200 hours, or arrest for up to 50 days. If the harassment is accompanied by violence, threats, blackmail, or the unlawful...

AZAL Plane Crash

Russia, Azerbaijan Settle Over Airliner Crash in Kazakhstan in 2024

Russia and Azerbaijan said on Wednesday that they have reached “an appropriate settlement” that includes compensation payments in the case of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan after being damaged by a Russian military strike on Dec. 25, 2024. The agreement reflected efforts by the two countries to resolve a long-running dispute over the crash, which killed 38 of the 67 people on board. The Embraer 190 airliner crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau after it was struck while trying to land in Grozny, Chechnya, and then diverted across the Caspian Sea. “The steps undertaken confirm the mutual intention to build further mutually beneficial cooperation,” the foreign ministries of Russia and Azerbaijan said in a joint statement. The statement said the settlement was based on an accord reached in October 2025, when Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged in a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that Russian missile fire had damaged the plane. Putin indicated that the strike was accidental as it occurred while the Russian military was dealing with a Ukrainian drone attack. His comments went some way toward easing Azerbaijan’s anger over what it viewed as Russian attempts to avoid responsibility for the disaster. The two sides “agreed to appropriately resolve the issues arising from the accident,” which occurred “as a result of the involuntary operation of the air defense system in the airspace of the Russian Federation,” the joint statement said. It expressed condolences to relatives and friends of those who died. The two foreign ministries did not release details of the compensation payments. Kazakhstan is still leading an investigation of the crash.

Prisons

Russia Seeks Transfer of 200 Tajik Women Prisoners After Dushanbe Approval

Russia’s human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova has received a positive response from Emomali Rahmon regarding the possible transfer of around 200 Tajik women currently serving sentences in Russian prisons, according to TASS. Moskalkova said she had written to the Tajik president requesting that the women be allowed to continue serving their sentences in Tajikistan on humanitarian grounds. “In each case, we must carefully weigh issues of justice, mercy, and humanism,” she said in an interview with TASS. She noted that while most cases confirm that crimes were committed, the severity of punishment should not always be maximal. “Sometimes leniency helps a person reform, repent, and change for the better. That is why we try in each case to find arguments that could support leniency, especially for women,” she said. According to Moskalkova, foreign women prisoners face additional challenges, including limited access to family visits and difficulties receiving parcels from relatives. These factors were among the reasons behind her appeal to Tajik authorities. She also pointed to broader policy developments in Russia’s penal system, citing improvements in detention conditions under the country’s penal reform strategy through 2030. Moskalkova highlighted recent legislation limiting pretrial detention for women with young children who have committed non-violent offenses. In addition, she said she has repeatedly asked courts to grant deferrals of sentences for women with children under the age of 14, thanking the judiciary for what she described as “understanding and positive decisions” in such cases. Earlier this month, Moskalkova said Russia was prepared to facilitate the transfer of more than 3,000 Uzbek nationals convicted in Russia to serve their sentences in Uzbekistan. However, she noted that the process remains stalled due to legal constraints, including Uzbekistan’s failure to ratify the 1998 Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons.

Court Cases

Minister Sydykov on the Bakai Bank Verdict and Kyrgyzstan’s Economic Path Forward

On April 13 in Washington, D.C., The Times of Central Asia’s Javier M. Piedra spoke with Kyrgyzstan’s Minister of Economy and Commerce, Bakyt Tolomushevich Sydykov, regarding the April 7 verdict in the “Bakai Bank vs. Open Dialogue Foundation” case before the Enterprise Court of Brussels - an important legal win for Kyrgyzstan and its stance in international financial markets. In a verdict with international implications for Kyrgyzstan and the region, the Enterprise Court of Brussels sided with Bakai Bank, a Kyrgyz financial institution, in connection with a high-profile defamation case between Bakai Bank and Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF) – finding that ODF published allegations about the bank’s financial conduct without sufficient evidence. The judgment marks a significant development in a cross-border reputational and financial dispute, setting a visible bar for accountability and offering a more balanced snapshot of Kyrgyz efforts to cultivate transparency and compliance in its banking sector. Kyrgyz government officials responded to the ruling with a practical and positive outlook, acknowledging that the country has prioritized policy, monitoring, and enforcement steps to bolster integrity and trust in its institutions. This ruling is expected to reinforce public confidence and strengthen the long-term resilience of Kyrgyzstan’s governance framework. In Washington D.C. this week, Sydykov told TCA that, “We welcome this decision not just as an affirmation of Bakai Bank, but also for our broader financial system. It helps to convey our message to policymakers, diplomats, investors, and partners that Kyrgyzstan is open for business – and a ready contributor to regional and international trade. Our financial institutions operate in line with international standards, compliance expectations, and responsible governance. We are glad to move forward with strengthening our banking system and growing Kyrgyzstan’s economy for the benefit of its citizens.” Case background The proceedings were brought before the French-speaking Enterprise Court of Brussels (Tribunal de l’entreprise francophone de Bruxelles) after Bakai Bank challenged a series of publications issued by the Open Dialogue Foundation in 2023. The NGO had alleged that Bakai Bank was involved in facilitating financial transactions linked to sanctions circumvention and networks connected to Russian capital flows following the expansion of Western sanctions in early 2022. Bakai Bank rejected these allegations as unsubstantiated and damaging to its international reputation and access to financial markets. It subsequently filed a civil action in Belgium, where the ODF is active and publishes much of its advocacy material. Court proceedings and findings In its judgment, the Brussels court examined whether the Open Dialogue Foundation had sufficient factual grounds to support its published claims. The court found that the NGO’s statements were presented as factually assertive allegations rather than opinion or conjecture, thereby requiring a higher evidentiary threshold. The court concluded that the ODF had failed to provide adequate supporting evidence for its assertions regarding Bakai Bank’s alleged involvement in illicit financial activity. As a result, the court determined that the publications were unlawful in their form and impact, particularly in relation to reputational harm inflicted on the bank. The ruling ordered the ODF...