In Tashkent, a group of musicians and bloggers were arrested and imprisoned for 15 days for promoting promiscuity, drunkenness and homosexuality under the guise of humor. The Court of Appeal acquitted them.

The appellate instance of the Tashkent city court on criminal cases changed the sentence against the members of the brbalo music group, who were previously arrested for their humorous video clip. Gazeta.uz reported this after studying the court decision.

On October 9, the Yunusabad District Court on Criminal Cases sentenced them to Article 183 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility (petty hooliganism / causes a fine of 3 to 5 times the BHM or administrative detention for up to 15 days) and part 1 of Article 194 (the legality of an employee of internal affairs bodies failure to comply with the requirements / causes a fine from 1 to 12 times the BHM) and sentenced to 15 days in prison.

The appellate body considered that the court of first instance correctly qualified the actions of the offenders according to the articles of the Criminal Code.

"However, the court of first instance applied a more severe measure by imposing a 15-day administrative prison sentence on Kamal Yusupov and Abror Gulyamov, without taking into account their confessions, remorse for their actions, their identity, family circumstances, and other mitigating circumstances," the court's decision reads.

In this regard, the court satisfied the appeal and reduced the prison term from 15 to 6 days, but did not change the sentence. This allowed them to go free.

"Thank God, we are at home. Thank you very much for supporting us, for being with us, we are very happy to have you and our strength. We need some rest to heal. And we will continue to create great tracks for you," Abror Gulyamov said in a video posted on Kamal Yusupov's Instagram.

What happened?

At the end of August, the capital's brbalo music group, consisting of musicians and bloggers, released a new music video "Aboka 2" (the video was later deleted). In it, foreign songs are performed in Uzbek in a humorous tone. Kamal Yusupov (blogger, participant of go.uz comedy project) and Abror Gulyamov (blogger, musician, champion of the KVN High League of Uzbekistan) are named as producers of the video. Previously, the team released other humorous clips such as "Uzbekistan" and "Wet Asphalt".

On October 8, one of the Telegram channels criticized this clip and began to distribute fragments of it.

At the beginning of the video, there is a disclaimer stating that this video is made as a joke and is intended for people over 18 years of age:

"It is considered a special material and was not taken with the aim of offending anyone or hurting their feelings. The authors require no action and make no claims. The video is made for entertainment purposes only and does not contain LGBT propaganda. We are against tobacco products, alcohol and drugs. Video may contain offensive language. Age limit is 18+. If you continue to watch this video, you agree and have been warned!”

In the video, Kamal Yusupov, wearing artificial hair, portrays the image of a woman in the field of intimate services. According to the plot, Abror Gulyamov (Aboka) falls in love with her, but later finds out that her friend is marrying her.

A. Tokhtaev, the chairman of the Kashkar Mahalla Citizens' Assembly, and three citizens applied to the court. The chairman of the neighborhood stated at the court session that the video is contrary to moral norms and traditions. In his opinion, these actions of bloggers have a negative impact on the education of young people and minors. At a time when attention to the education of young people has become an urgent issue, their actions can have an impact on the morals of the growing young generation. The chairman of MFY made a statement saying that legal action should be taken against them, that this would be an example and a lesson for the younger generation in the future.

After the arrest was announced, many public activists criticized the court decision.