A preventive campaign conducted by internal affairs officers inside a Tashkent school classroom has sparked severe public criticism and raised serious concerns regarding the protection of minors. The incident, which was shared widely across social media platforms before comments were disabled, featured law enforcement personnel publicly questioning nine-year-old children about their parents' alleged traffic violations without blurring their faces or securing parental consent.

According to reports, the uniformed officers entered the primary school classroom unannounced and without coordination with the Ministry of Education. Several children were called to the front of the board to confess that they regularly ride in the front passenger seats of their fathers' vehicles. The Ministry of Education subsequently distanced itself from the event, stating that such intimidating visits by armed or uniformed personnel inside classrooms violate students' fundamental rights.

Child Ombudsperson Surayyo Rahmonova strongly condemned the dissemination of the video, asserting that children should never be held accountable or publicly exposed for the actions of their parents. She noted that interrogating minors in front of their peers creates undue psychological pressure, anxiety, and public humiliation, running contrary to the core principles of child protection and welfare.

Civil society activists and independent observers have similarly criticized the intervention, accusing state agencies of exploiting children's images for public relations and media engagement. Critics argue that law enforcement representatives disregarded established legal safeguards and basic ethics, questioning whether official authority permits the erosion of children's privacy for the sake of social media exposure.

Source: www.gazeta.uz