Persons serving sentences, who sincerely repent of the committed crime and have taken the path of correction, have the right to ask the president for clemency, if they have served two-thirds of the total sentence determined by the court. This was announced by the Deputy Prosecutor General Svetlana Artikova at a press conference held on December 11 at the AIMC.
“A convicted person will have the right to appeal to the president for pardon only after serving two-thirds of his term. This rule is included in the Presidential Decree “On approving the regulation on the procedure for pardoning in the Republic of Uzbekistan”, signed on May 8, 2018.
After serving two-thirds of the total sentence, the prisoner applies to the Commission on Clemency under the President of Uzbekistan through the leadership of the institution where he is serving the sentence.
As soon as the application is submitted to the commission, appropriate studies begin. A recommendation of the convict will be collected, the issue of indemnity and the marital status of the prisoner will be studied. The colony leadership begins to work with the convict, we also go there and work with the applicant. I conduct an individual interview with the prisoner in order to understand whether the criminal really repents of his deed, whether he made the appropriate conclusions. Based on the accumulated information, the commission holds a meeting and carefully weighs all the pros and cons and comes to a decision,” Kun.uz correspondent quoted Svetlana Artikova as saying.
According to the Deputy Prosecutor General, the list of candidates for pardon will be formed, then it will be presented to the President. Having studied the data, the head of state, using his constitutional powers, signs a decree on pardon of those persons, whom he considers appropriate.
During the event, information on the work to improve the life of pardoned persons after their release was also presented. This year, the President of Uzbekistan, on the eve of Ramadan Khayit, signed a decree “On pardon of a group of prisoners, who sincerely repented of their deeds and firmly embarked on the path of correction”, their number was 575. On December 7, in connection with the anniversary of adoption of the Constitution, another 92 citizens serving sentences were pardoned.
“I talked to convicts directly. Most of them were not traitors to their homeland, but were sentenced to years of imprisonment due to harsh sanctions in accordance with the laws of those years. Our president instructed to consider the pardon of such people. The head of state gave a chance to people, who, through ignorance, committed a crime, but sincerely repented of their deeds and firmly took the path of correction.
Now the Commission on Clemency under the President of Uzbekistan is working hard. We consider all appeals in the prescribed manner. There is only one requirement: the convicted person should appeal himself, not his relatives or friends,” Svetlana Artikova concluded.
