The Senate of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan at its meeting on May 18 approved a law aimed at strengthening probation supervision over persons conditionally released early from serving their sentences, as well as expanding the rights of persons held in pre-trial detention facilities.
Senator Qutbidin Burxanov, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Defense and Security, presented the law. He stated that probation is not just control, but a means of returning a person to the right path and helping them become a useful member of society.
According to the senator, current legislation does not clearly define the mechanisms for monitoring conditionally released persons and the tasks of supervisory bodies in this area. The new law is designed to eliminate these shortcomings.
Specifically, amendments to Article 73 of the Criminal Code impose an obligation on conditionally released persons to periodically report to supervisory authorities. This will establish permanent and systematic monitoring of their behavior.
Additionally, the court may fully or partially cancel the imposed obligations upon a prosecutor's submission or a petition from the released person. Previously, such a petition could only be filed through a lawyer, which contradicted Article 55 of the Constitution guaranteeing the right to judicial protection.
The Criminal Procedure Code is supplemented with Article 536−3, which clearly regulates the procedure for revoking conditional early release. Issues of unserved punishment will be considered by the court at the convict's place of residence.
The Criminal Executive Code is supplemented with a new Chapter 28−1, defining the procedure for supervision, obligations of conditionally released persons, and procedures for terminating supervision and submitting court submissions.
A separate part of the amendments concerns the rights of persons held in pre-trial detention. Amendments to the Law 'On Detention in Criminal Proceedings' provide for the right to a walk of at least two hours on weekends and holidays (currently one hour), as well as the possibility of receiving additional clothing and footwear.
Furthermore, the amount allocated for purchasing food and essential goods is increased to one minimum wage (1,271,000 soums).
Senator Burxanov emphasized that these persons have not yet been found guilty by a court, so the principle of presumption of innocence must fully apply to them.
Source: www.gazeta.uz