According to President Shavkat Mirziyev’s press secretary, the state of emergency lasts for a month, and applies to the Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan in the western part of the country.
The background is a proposed constitutional amendment that would reduce the region’s opportunities for future self-government, and remove an option for the autonomous republic to vote for independence through a referendum.
Protests erupted in the Central Asian country and the president has since backed down from the proposed reforms.
The authoritarian government has not yet mentioned any deaths, but several Telegram accounts circulate images that may show that people have lost their lives.
Internet access has been restricted in the territory over the past week and at least one private news site deleted an article about the changes in Karakalpakstan’s status shortly after it was published.
Spontaneous demonstrations are illegal in the former Soviet republic. The police announced on Friday that “the order had been restored” in the area where the protests took place.