Uzbekistan has released more than 3,200 prisoners under a general amnesty granted to nearly 70,000 people.
Uzbeksitan's Prosecutor-General's Office said on June 3 that the annual pardon applied to 69,497 people, of whom 43,082 had their criminal convictions and sentences overturned, including 3,237 people who were incarcerated.
The remainder were individuals still awaiting trial.
The amnesty is announced each December to mark the anniversary of Uzbekistan’s 1992 constitution and is usually implemented several months after its announcement.
The clemency usually applies to women, convicts younger than 18 and older than 60, and foreign citizens.
Uzbekistan has never revealed the total number of its prison population.
Last year, the International Committee of the Red Cross stopped visiting Uzbek detainees, saying that it was unable to follow its standard working procedures.
Uzbeksitan's Prosecutor-General's Office said on June 3 that the annual pardon applied to 69,497 people, of whom 43,082 had their criminal convictions and sentences overturned, including 3,237 people who were incarcerated.
The remainder were individuals still awaiting trial.
The amnesty is announced each December to mark the anniversary of Uzbekistan’s 1992 constitution and is usually implemented several months after its announcement.
The clemency usually applies to women, convicts younger than 18 and older than 60, and foreign citizens.
Uzbekistan has never revealed the total number of its prison population.
Last year, the International Committee of the Red Cross stopped visiting Uzbek detainees, saying that it was unable to follow its standard working procedures.