History
The State Penitentiary Service of the Kyrgyz Republic has its beginnings in 1918, when theResponsibilities
The responsibilities of the penitentiary service are to: # Ensure the execution and serving of sentences and other measures of criminal law in accordance with the legislation # Ensure the proper detention of persons detained on suspicion, charged with committing crimes, and prisoners # Ensure the protection of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of convicts and prisoners # Ensure the rule of law and legality in the institutions executing punishment in the form of imprisonment and pre-trial penitentiaries, the safety of convicted prisoners and prisoners, as well as employees, military personnel, officials and citizens located in the territories of these institutions # Ensure the protection of penitentiary institutions, as well as other units and institutions of the GSIN # Ensure the protection and escorting of convicts and prisoners along established escort routes, escorting citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic and stateless persons to the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as foreign citizens and stateless persons in the event of their extradition # Assist law enforcement and other security agencies of the Kyrgyz Republic to ensure public safety and the legal regime during a state of emergency # Provide legal and social protection for employees, military and retired GSIN personnel # Organize training and retraining of the staff of the GSIN in cooperation with educational institutions of the Kyrgyz Republic and foreign countriesStructure
The penitentiary service is divided into several divisions, that include: * Main Headquarters * Department for the Protection of Correctional Institutions & the escort of convicts and persons in custody * Department of Penitentiary Inspections * Social Support Bureau * Medical Service * Atlantis Rehabilitation Center * Center for Rehabilitation and Social Adaptation of convicts * Pension Department * Sports Society "Semetey, Семетей" * Educational Center * Newspaper Department "Umut, Умут" The penitentiary service is further sub-divided into several units, that include:Outreach
Local
Local community outreach has been initiated by the penitentiary service in the form of selling produce that has been made within the penitentiary institutions as part of job training efforts. Several of these products include bowls, clothes, construction materials, soy milk, and even wheat products like bread and pasta. Local religious organisations from the Islamic and Russian Orthodox Church branches have also been approached to bring religious teachings into these institutes. Furthermore local third party watchdog group, the Ombudsman (Омбудсмени), have been invited to review and recommend actions to be taken in light of reforms happening in the service.International
The penitentiary service has reached out to several international organisations to seek assistance in improving the conditions of its institutions as well as its staff. These include the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as well as several non-governmental organisations like Doctors Without Borders, International Committee of the Red Cross, and Soros Foundation. These organisations have assisted the penitentiary service in numerous ways including providing funds for the upgrading of aging infrastructure, training of its staff, or monitoring as a third party watchdog of the conditions of prisoners held within the institutions. The Kyrgyz Republic is also a member of theState Penitentiary Service Day
The Day of the Employee of the Penitentiary System of the Kyrgyz Republic also known as the State Penitentiary Service Day, is a professional holiday for employees of the penitentiary service in the Kyrgyz Republic that is celebrated annually on the 12 of August. It was established in 2003 by a governmental decree to acknowledge the efforts of penitentiary service personnel in safeguarding the nation. Traditionally, concerts and meetings are held to thank the staff, while state and departmental awards are also given out.Incidents
* On 20 October 2005, during a period of prison unrest, convicts killed four prison officials which included the head of the Main Department for the Execution of Punishments during a visit. This incident came during a time when prison conditions were deteriorating due to acute shortages in the funding of prisons as well as alleged torture of prisoners. * On 22 October 2015, Kyrgyz police killed a suspected Islamist militant that had escaped from prison during a shootout, which saw the death of one policeman and two civilians too. The militant had escaped from prison together with eight other detainees and convicts after killing three prison guards. This mirrored increasing calls for concern that more militants might have entered the country at the wake of the United States invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 as well as the collapse of the Islamic State around 2015, that eventually led to sweeping arrests and convictions of suspected terrorists which have alarmed human rights group.See also
* Capital punishment in Kyrgyzstan *References
{{Government of the Kyrgyz Republic Government of Kyrgyzstan Law of Kyrgyzstan Law enforcement in Kyrgyzstan Prison and correctional agencies