Foreign citizens who make unacceptable statements about Uzbekistan and its people are being proposed to be banned from entering the country.

This proposal was made by a group of members of the Legislative Chamber (Uzbekistan’s lower house of parliament), who have developed the corresponding bill.

Changes and addenda regarding the ban on entry and stay in the country for foreigners whose public statements or actions fall into this category have been proposed to the law “On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens and Stateless Persons in the Republic of Uzbekistan.”

Specifically, the parliamentarians propose including individuals who:

• Threaten the state sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of Uzbekistan;
• Incite interstate, social, interethnic, racial, and religious hatred;
• Demean the honor, dignity, or history of the people of Uzbekistan.
• For foreigners whose presence in Uzbekistan is deemed unacceptable by the authorities, a five-year ban on entry to the republic, opening bank accounts, purchasing real estate, participating in the privatization of state property, and engaging in financial and contractual relationships is proposed.

Foreigners and stateless persons in this category who temporarily or permanently reside in Uzbekistan will have their right to stay or reside in the country legally annulled.  They must leave the country within ten days of receiving the Foreign Ministry's notification of the undesirability of their presence in Uzbekistan; otherwise, they will be deported with the involvement of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other competent authorities.

“The bill is aimed at strengthening the state sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of Uzbekistan, protecting interstate, interethnic, and interreligious harmony in the country, and ensuring respect for the honor, dignity, and history of the people of Uzbekistan,” reads the statement.

Kun.uz notes that over the past year, several well-known Russians, including Zakhar Prilepin, Mikhail Smolin, Mikhail Delyagin, Yevgeny Fyodorov, and Pyotr Tolstoy, have angered the Uzbek public with their threats and provocative statements, leading to calls in Uzbekistan to ban such individuals from entering the country.