The Jogorku Kenesh, Kyrgyzstan's parliament, has approved amendments to the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes in the first reading. These amendments aim to facilitate the transfer of Kyrgyz citizens convicted abroad to serve their sentences in their home country.
It has been reported that the majority of Kyrgyzstan's convicted citizens are serving their sentences in Russia. Under Russian law, a foreign state may refuse to extradite its citizen if the punishment for the crime is less severe than in Russia.
The proposed bill suggests that extradited Kyrgyz citizens will serve their sentences under the terms and conditions they received under the laws of the foreign country.
Deputy Minister of Justice Orozbek Sydykov stated that 1,587 Kyrgyz citizens are currently serving sentences in prisons in various countries:
- In Russia - 742
- In Kazakhstan - 86
- In Uzbekistan - 45
- In Iraq - 41
- In Turkey - 31
- In Tajikistan - 25
- In the UAE - 15
- In China - 13
- In Italy - 10
- In South Korea - 8
- In Belarus - 4
- In Lithuania, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, and Georgia - 2 each
- In Hungary, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, Moldova, France, and Iran - 1 each
An additional 788 Kyrgyz citizens, according to Sydykov, are under arrest awaiting court decisions:
- In Russia - 742
- In Turkey - 13
- In Kazakhstan - 9
- In Italy and Hungary - 5 each
- In Germany - 4
- In Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea - 2 each
- In the Czech Republic, France, and Mongolia - 1 each
