The Parliament of Kyrgyzstan adopted a bill, which introduces fines for slander and insults on the Internet and in the media, in the third reading.
The background statement to the bill says that an increase in the number of cases of insults and humiliation disseminated through various media and Internet resources has been observed. The Cabinet of Ministers believes that the legislation currently does not respond effectively enough to cases of insults in the media and on Internet platforms, and most cases remain unpunished due to the difficulty of proving guilt and the ambiguity of legal norms.
Deputies Eldar Abakirov, Zhanarbek Akayev and Seidbek Atambayev voted against the bill.
Recall, the Cabinet of Ministers proposes to introduce Article 107-1 «Slander and insults contained in the media, on a website or on a website page» into the Code of Offenses and a fine of 100,000 soms for individuals and 200,000 for legal entities.
After lengthy discussions, deputies reduced the fine for individuals to 20,000 soms, for legal entities — to 65,000. The authority to execute the law was transferred by the deputies’ proposal to law enforcement agencies, and not the Ministry of Culture.
President Sadyr Japarov believes that it is necessary to fine for insults. On October 23, the Parliament approved amendments to the Code of Offenses in the first reading.
