The Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman in Tajikistan has received four appeals concerning the implementation of the country’s new amnesty law.

Husniddin Nidoyev, head of the Department for the Protection of Civil and Political Rights at the Ombudsman’s Office, announced this at a news conference in Dushanbe on July 17.

According to Nidoyev, the office received two appeals in person, one by telephone and one in writing.

The applicants raised questions about release from serving the remainder of a sentence, obtaining official documents, including passports, and the inclusion of their relatives on lists of prisoners eligible for amnesty.

All four appeals have been reviewed, and the relevant materials have been forwarded to the Prosecutor-General’s Office for further consideration and a legal decision, Nidoyev said.

Ombudsman monitoring implementation

Human Rights Ombudsman Umed Bobozoda said his office was also monitoring how the amnesty law was being implemented.

Following the law’s adoption, a temporary commission was established within the Ombudsman’s Office to oversee respect for human rights during the amnesty process.

“Our commission has already visited several correctional facilities and is monitoring the implementation of the law. We continue to receive written, verbal and telephone appeals, most of which concern whether the applicants’ relatives are covered by the amnesty,” Bobozoda said.

On July 15, President Emomali Rahmon, speaking at a meeting with justice officials, criticized violations committed by some employees of the Main Directorate for the Execution of Criminal Sentences.

He instructed the Ministry of Justice to ensure that the amnesty law was applied correctly and impartially and to prevent corruption during its implementation.

The amnesty law was adopted by the lower house of parliament and signed by the president on June 16 before being officially published.

Under the law, 18,038 people are expected to be released from criminal liability or punishment, or have their sentences reduced, within two months. Most of those covered by the amnesty are serving sentences in correctional facilities.

Several thousand people have already been released from prisons and pre-trial detention centres across the country.