The Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan on 17 December passed in the first reading the draft law proposing remote video calls for the imprisoned.
“The documents aims to prevent the isolation of prisoners from society through the use of modern information and communication technologies and to facilitate their reintegration into society after serving their sentences,” the statement from the parliament’s press service noted.
The proposed amendments to the Criminal-Executive Code would introduce provisions for remote video calls for inmates held in the Ministry of Internal Affairs facilities.
The number of video calls permitted would depend on the regime of sentence execution and the conditions of detention.
For instance, inmates in settlement colonies and juvenile correctional colonies could be allowed up to 24 video calls annually.
The initiative seeks to help inmates maintain regular contact with their families, preserve family bonds and encourage rehabilitation.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs published a draft government resolution to create conditions for organizing remote video calls in correctional facilities. This proposal aligns with the president’s decree of 11 August 2017, and the Cabinet of Ministers resolution of 15 October 2021.
As part of an experimental phase, secure remote video communication was introduced in penal colony no. 7 from 1 December, 2023 to 1 February, 2024. The Prisoline system, implemented by Inm International, facilitated the trial. The proposal recommended contracting the same firm to establish video communication systems for online calls across all Ministry of Internal Affairs facilities. Under the proposal, prisoners would bear the costs of online calls, which would be monitored by the correctional facility administration.
