Uzbek President Pardons Over 500 Convicts Ahead of Independence Day

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has signed a decree pardoning 523 convicts on the eve of Uzbekistan’s 34th Independence anniversary.

The act of clemency, the presidential office noted, does not cancel the crimes committed but extends a second chance to those who admitted their guilt, repented, and demonstrated efforts toward reform, The Caspian Post reports via Uzbek media.

Of those pardoned, 195 prisoners were released in full, 147 received early conditional release, 87 had their sentences commuted to lighter penalties, and 94 saw their prison terms reduced.

The group includes 45 women, 31 people over the age of 60, and 220 individuals under 30, including one minor. Eight foreign nationals-six from Tajikistan, one from Sierra Leone, and one from another country-were also pardoned. In addition, 15 of the beneficiaries had previously been linked to activities of banned organizations.

To carry out the decree, the Prosecutor General’s Office and relevant agencies have arranged the return of released citizens to their places of residence and the deportation of foreign nationals to their home countries.

All individuals freed under the decree will remain under preventive and probationary supervision. They are also set to receive one-time financial assistance, medical examinations and treatment if needed, as well as support in employment, loans, subsidies, civil documentation, and pensions.