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The Diplomat (6 April 2020)

Umida Hashimova

Governments around the world are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic with the best intentions, deploying and mobilizing their resources as effectively as they can. To date, there are 390 confirmed cases and two deaths in Uzbekistan, which is a relatively low number for a country of 32 million. To halt the escalation of the situation, the government chose a heavy-handed approach with the help of the very same law enforcement bodies heavily disfavored by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev when he rose to power in 2016.

When Mirziyoyev became president, the country embarked on a process of dismantling its “police state” image. In the past several weeks, however, the country’s law enforcement bodies and armed forces have been imbued with renewed powers. They’re patrolling the streets of Uzbekistan and punishing curfew and quarantine evaders. The people of Uzbekistan, for the most part, have received these changes with calm.

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