Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has signed a law amending the country’s Criminal Code to increase penalties for crimes related to human trafficking.

Under the revised Article 135 of the Criminal Code, harsher punishments are now prescribed for the use of forged documents in the commission of human trafficking, as well as for the confiscation, concealment, or destruction of a victim’s identification documents. These offenses are now punishable by imprisonment for a term of 5 to 10 years, compared to the previous 5 to 8 years.

Furthermore, if such crimes result in the death of the victim or other serious consequences, the punishment has been increased to 10 to 15 years of imprisonment. Previously, the penalty for such aggravated offenses ranged from 8 to 12 years.

These amendments aim to strengthen Uzbekistan’s fight against human trafficking and ensure more robust legal protection for victims of such crimes.