E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.2 page 72 338. Recommendation (o) stated: Similarly, in view of the frequent detention of individuals under the Anti-Terror Law, seemingly for exercising their right to freedom of opinion and expression and of association, the Government may also wish to give serious consideration to extending an invitation to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. 339. The Government reported that various amendments have been made to the Anti-Terror law since 2002. Article 7 has been amended to restrict the definition of propaganda. As such, only propaganda that incites terrorism and other forms of violence is a criminal offence under the Anti-Terror Law. On 19 July 2003, Article 8 of the law was repealed. Uzbekistan Follow-up to the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur in the report of his visit to Uzbekistan in November and December 2002 (E/CN.4/2003/68/Add.2, para. 70). 340. By letters dated 21 October 2005 and 5 January 2006, the Government provided information on the follow-up measures taken. 341. Recommendation (a) stated: First and foremost, the highest authorities need to publicly condemn torture in all its forms. The highest authorities, in particular those responsible for law enforcement activities, should declare unambiguously that they will not tolerate torture and similar ill-treatment by public officials and that those in command at the time abuses are perpetrated will be held personally responsible for the abuses. The authorities need to take vigorous measures to make such declarations credible and make clear that the culture of impunity must end. 342. According to NGOs, this has not happened. The conduct of closed staff-meetings within law-enforcement bodies cannot be considered to implement this recommendation because of the lack of publicity. Moreover, these internal meetings and round-tables are not covered by the mass media of Uzbekistan. The meetings referred to in the 2005 report (E/CN.4/2005/62/Add.2) were organized only for the diplomatic corps situated in Uzbekistan but not for the public. In any case, acts of torture have not been condemned by the highest authorities in the mass media. Moreover, there was no widely available publication, to which many residents had access, which unambiguously declared that the highest authorities would put an end to impunity. No other decisive measures were taken to convince the population that an end would be put to acts of torture and impunity. 343. The Government informed that representatives of the highest level of all three branches of power have condemned torture and that the media widely reported on this, e.g. the journal “Narodnoe Slovo” on 20 October 2004 reported in an article, “In the Senate of the Oliy Majlis” about a round table organised by the Committees on legislative and judicial questions about dealing with citizens’ appeals on the basis of the laws “On Citizens’ Appeals” and “On Filing Complaints with the Courts about Acts and Decisions Violating Human Rights”. During that round table the proposals of the National Human Rights Centre relating to the implementation of the Convention against Torture (CAT) were discussed. Several parliamentarians from both Chambers of Parliament, representatives of law-enforcement, ministries and leading academics made presentations. Furthermore, in October 2005 the International Relations Committee of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis, together with representatives of law-enforcement,