TASHKENT -- The Uzbek government adopted a law on November 1 that bans the sale of alcoholic beverages near all educational and religious buildings in the country, RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reports.
The new law forbids the retail sale of alcohol, including beer, within 500 meters of schools and mosques and assigns a state tax committee to monitor the law's implementation.
Meanwhile, Ahmadjon Madumarov, a human rights activist from the Ferghana region in Uzbekistan, told RFE/RL that a number of liquor stores are currently located at a distance of 30 to 200 meters from schools.
An Uzbek tax committee spokesman declined to comment to RFE/RL about the law.