The Coalition against Torture of Kyrgyzstan launched a social survey where Kyrgyz citizens were asked to answer whether prisoners were protected from COVID-19 infection and if urgent measures were needed to reduce the number of prisoners (amnesty).
Thus, according to the survey, 67% of Kyrgyz citizens support the amnesty of prisoners as an urgent measure to fight against the epidemic. A quarter of respondents spoke out against, another 7% found it difficult to answer.
Moreover, the vast majority of respondents, namely 74.3%, are sure that prisoners are not protected from coronavirus in Kyrgyzstan. 79.3% of Kyrgyz citizens believe that prisons can become centers of the epidemic if urgent measures are not taken.
“People believe that the amnesty should not be complete, and only those who have committed a petty offense should be released. Secondly, there is an opposite opinion that “mass and widespread amnesty” will help relieve the penitentiary system. Thirdly, specific articles are supposed to be used for an amnesty, they include the category of women who have children and seriously ill prisoners,” human rights activists explain.
However, there are those who believe that there is no threat to prisoners, as well as the need for an amnesty. In particular, 15.7% of respondents are of the opinion that prisoners are protected from coronavirus infection. And about 12% don’t see the risks and the need for urgent measures.
In the comments under the new bill “On the amnesty in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 and the 10th anniversary of the People’s April Revolution of 2010”, many people are worried, that after leaving the prisoners, will not be able to find work; thus, it will provoke an increase of crime.
Human rights activists emphasize that those, who are “for” and “against” amnesty, share the opinion that people, released from prisons, should receive support from the state.
“Amnesty, like other ways to reduce the number of prisoners, should be a well-thought-out and responsible program of actions of various state structures,” the Coalition against Torture concluded.
Earlier, the member of Parliament, Dastan Bekeshev, expressed his opinion that the government needs to save the state budget and reduce the number of people in jail and prisons. According to him, the State Penitentiary Service spends $3.8 million (300 million KGS) a year for the maintenance of prisons. In this connection, the parliamentarian proposes to change the preventive measure to all persons, except for those suspected of especially serious crimes, and also to apply an amnesty for old people and people with disabilities.
“These measures will be justified in the current situation, since we need to rationally use finances and direct all our efforts to fight against the epidemic,” Bekeshev emphasized.
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