Members of Zhogorku Kenesh adopted the law that imposes penalties for insults and slander on the Internet and in the media in the third reading. The document, supported by 68 parliamentarians with 4 votes against, imposes fines of 20,000 soms and 65,000 soms for individuals and organisations, respectively, Sputnik reports.
The draft law submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers initially advocated higher fines — 100,000 and 200,000 soms, respectively.
President Sadyr Japarov, who had learned about the proposal from discussions on social media, supported the initiative, but advised against excessive fines.
The justification for the law stated that a resurgence in insults in the media and the ineffectiveness of existing accountability mechanisms necessitate adopting the law. The law will come into force after the President signs it.
