The director, deputy, and head of marketing of the Ashgabat Park in Tashkent have been arrested and detained for 15 days for violating the rules of mass events. According to Gazeta.uz reports, the arrests were made after some 40,000 people had gathered in the park in the hope of receiving free toys.
The throng had responded to an advertisement circulated on social media announcing the free distribution of 20,000 soft toys and ice cream at noon on 1 June. However, according to the Department of Internal Affairs, the park’s management had been pre- warned and then instructed to cancel the event because of the risks posed by a mass gathering within the park’s territory and the event’s non-compliance with traffic and citizen safety guidelines.
By failing to comply, the park’s administration created a danger to citizens and traffic jams at the park’s entrance and exit, on some internal routes, and roads leading to the park.
The Yashnabad District Department of Internal Affairs drew up an administrative protocol against the park director, deputy director, and head of the advertising department, followed by a sentence of 15 days of administrative arrest imposed by the District Court.
The Department of Internal Affairs also published a reminder that according to the requirements of the Cabinet of Ministers resolution of July 29, 2014 (#205), permission to hold mass events must be submitted one month in advance.
