Polat Bobojonov has left. What can be expected from the new minister?

After 7.5 years of service, Lieutenant General Polat Bobojonov has left the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In his place, Major General Aziz Toshpolatov has become the new Minister of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan. There were many grievances against the system during Polat Bobojonov's tenure, as he did not hold open dialogues with the public. What can be expected from the new minister?

On March 3, Polat Bobojonov was relieved of his duties as the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The 64-year-old lieutenant general had been serving in this position for 7.5 years.

He was appointed to the ministerial position on September 4, 2017. On September 12, 2019, he received the special rank of lieutenant general. No official information has been provided regarding the reasons for Polat Bobojonov's resignation. According to sources from Kun.uz, his dismissal is related to the purges that occurred in the law enforcement agencies at the end of November 2024.

On the same day, Polat Bobojonov's new position was announced. He was appointed as the Deputy Advisor to the President of Uzbekistan on personnel policy issues.

In place of Bobojonov, Major General Aziz Toshpolatov was appointed as the Minister of Internal Affairs. After the deputies approved the candidate, a presidential decree was signed regarding the appointment.

Colonel Ravshan Sultonxojaev was appointed as the head of the Tashkent City Department of Internal Affairs. Prior to this, he had been serving as the head of the Internal Affairs Department of the Khorezm region.

Polat Bobojonov's Tenure

Perhaps due to relative openness, criticisms of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and its subordinate organizations did not cease after Bobojonov's arrival. This was mainly related to human rights: every year, several deaths of citizens taken to internal affairs buildings are reported. "15-day detentions" remain a pressing issue. Despite significant public objections, Polat Bobojonov did not respond to the deaths of citizens in internal affairs buildings. Furthermore, the former minister never held an open press conference with media representatives to answer questions.

In 2022, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev had also demanded accountability from Polat Bobojonov regarding human rights issues.

"Recently, painful issues regarding human rights violations have been raised in some detention facilities," the president said, addressing the prosecutor general and the minister of internal affairs. The president demanded that they convey to every employee in their system that the law and human rights are supreme values. However, to date, there has been no resolution to the unfortunate incidents in the internal affairs buildings.

A few weeks ago, two inmates died in prisons in the Tashkent region, and on February 24, the body of a 50-year-old farmer who was taken to the Uzun district internal affairs department for questioning was also found. Regarding these incidents, both the then-serving minister Polat Bobojonov and his press service have remained silent.

Several activists do not believe that the minister's replacement will lead to fundamental changes in the system. For example, journalist Muhrim A’zamxo‘jayev considered this change to be "the unfinished part of the purges that took place on November 23-24."

"The removal of Polat Bobojonov from the position of Minister of Internal Affairs and the appointment of the head of the Tashkent City Department of Internal Affairs will not contribute to positive changes in the system, in my opinion. It seems that it was not appropriate for someone whose subordinates were arrested yesterday to continue sitting in the ministerial position.

There were more than enough objections to the former minister (for instance, each death in detention facilities alone warranted resignation). Therefore, today's resignation is not merely the result of accumulated objections overflowing from the patience of the public (in fact, the flood had already begun), but rather it seems to be the unfinished part of the purges that took place on November 23-24. Thus, it can be assumed that the heavy caravan of internal affairs agencies will continue to move forward without any changes," says journalist Muhrim A’zamxo‘jayev.

According to human rights activist Abdurahmon Tashanov, Bobojonov should have already left when he was dismissed for the shortcomings in the system. For this reason, he also linked his departure to the purges. Human rights defenders do not expect significant results from Aziz Toshpolatov, says the rights activist. Because a person in the system is a partner in both past achievements and shortcomings, time will tell, he says.

Economist and blogger Otabek Bakirov wrote that if civilian leaders come, fundamental reforms in the system may begin. He stated that there is a concept of political accountability for gross errors in the field.

"I believe that we also have a concept and practice of political accountability. However, this is usually implemented without delay or publicity.

Civil sectors will go their own way. However, for example, the increase in various murder crimes and deaths in prisons and isolation facilities raises questions in society, and I believe that the tradition of providing political accountability for these questions has not disappeared.

No matter what happens, if we want to build a legal and humane state, the police must be reformed. Perhaps if civilian leaders come into the system, fundamental reforms will begin. Ideally, there should be civilian management over the police and defense," writes Bakirov.

According to sources from Kun.uz who have worked with Aziz Toshpolatov, the general is an ordinary and straightforward person. "He gets close to those who work well, and his best quality is that he does not engage in favoritism. He is relatively open and raises appropriate criticisms, trying to correct the criticized service," says one of the employees who worked with Toshpolatov.

Of course, time will tell. The public expects openness from the new minister, fundamental reforms in the system, and at the same time, personal accountability from employees to ensure that citizens' constitutional rights are not violated.