Page 48 - bne IntelliNews monthly magazine November 2024

48 I Eurasia bne November 2024
Kyrgyzstan to offer “business class” prison cells for convicts
Eurasianet
The cash-strapped government of Kyrgyzstan is considering a novel way
of raising revenue by injecting an element of pleasure into punishment. According to a report distributed by the Current Time channel, prisoners in the Central Asian nations may soon be able to purchase upgrades to improve their incarceration experience.
Depending on the cost and their means, any Kyrgyz prisoner willing to pony up the required cash may soon be able to do time in a luxury cell. The payment scheme will soon have a test run, according to Kyrgyz officials.
“The experimental regime involves the creation of an isolated section in one of the correctional institutions,” says Kemel Sadykov, deputy head of the Kyrgyz Penitentiary Service. “A pilot project will be implemented there with pay cells for convicts, where the conditions will possibly resemble those of a sanatorium. Why not? A similar practice has already been implemented in Ukraine and a number of other countries.”
In Ukraine, an upgraded experience is available only to those being held in pre-trial detention, i.e. those suspected of, but not yet convicted of, a crime. The Kyrgyz variant will apparently be available for convicted felons.
The Kyrgyz Penitentiary Service did not provide details on what upgraded prison cells would feature, and what additional privileges paying prisoners would receive. Officials also have not mentioned anything about the cost of upgrading. No matter, there appears to be no shortage of convicts willing to pay what it takes to improve their quality of life behind bars.
Critics of the plan assert that the idea of creating “business class” for convicts will exacerbate corruption within the prison system, which, according to many who have spent time inside, is already rampant.
This article first appeared on Eurasianet.
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Inmates may soon be offered accommodation more comfortable than this – for a price. / gov.kg
the funds and invest them in the construction industry,” he noted.
At the same time, the president offered a robust defence of the business activities of friends and family members, specifically the GKNB chief’s son, Tai-Muras Tashiev. He implied that altruism on the part of the younger Tashiev’s company was the primary motivation for taking on the highway construction project involving a bypass around the southern city of Uzgen. The highway will become a toll road when it opens, but Japarov insisted that Tashiev’s company was sacrificing short-term gains for the best interests of the state. He offered a convoluted rationale for the project, without shedding much light on the governmental contracting process.
“Government money should be invested in projects that pay back quickly. ... Therefore, we are ready to transfer
not only the bypass road in Uzgen, but also a number of other roads to private individuals,” Japarov told Kabar.
“But not a single company or individual has expressed readiness to build these roads, since the investments will pay off only in the long term,” Japarov added. “Therefore, we thank Tai-Muras [Tashiev] for the construction of the Uzgen bypass road. We must thank him for looking for and finding an investor for this project.”
In July, the Kaktus media outlet published an investigative report showing that since Japarov assumed the presidency in Kyrgyzstan, government confiscations of private property have been on the rise. “Over the past three years, Kyrgyz authorities have been actively nationalising private property,” the outlet stated. In Japarov’s interview with Kabar, the question of state confiscation did not come up.
Kyrgyzstan’s ranking in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index has nosedived in recent years. In its most recent survey, Kyrgyzstan ranked 141st out of the 180 countries measured for their corruption environment. Its net corruption score in 2023 was lower than that registered in 2014.
This article first appeared on Eurasianet.