Uzbekistan’s president has pardoned dozens of inmates on the eve of Eid al-Fitr -- the holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
State media outlets reported on June 4 that according to Shavkat Mirziyoev’s decree, 361 inmates will be released from prison, and the prison terms of 214 inmates will be shortened.
Seven pardoned convicts are people older than 60, six are women, and one person is a foreign national.
Mirziyoev's predecessor, Islam Karimov, whose death was announced in September 2016, never pardoned convicts on Eid al-Fitr.
Uzbekistan has the largest population -- more than 30 million people -- among the five Central Asian former Soviet republics, with deeply rooted Islamic heritage and traditions.
