The Senate at its meeting on August 1 passed a bill providing for more lenient criminal penalties for minors. The bill proposes to deem those persons who committed a crime before reaching the age of 18 and fully served their sentence as having no criminal record.
If adopted, the Article 77 of the Criminal Code will be supplemented by the following provision:
"A person who has served a sentence for a crime committed before reaching the age of 18 shall be deemed as having no criminal record, with the exception of particularly serious crimes or cases where a new intentional crime was committed after serving the sentence before reaching the age of 18."
In addition, the bill has proposed to cut the minimum term of house arrest and imprisonment for minors - from six months to one month.
According to the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Youth, Women, Culture and Sports Orzigul Kozikhonova, the bill will facilitate for minors to continue their lives "without the stigma of a criminal record", which should help in their social adaptation.
The experience of Russia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan was taken into account when drafting the bill.
According to statistics, 1911 minors were prosecuted in 2023 in Uzbekistan, and already 2214 - in 2024. Of these, 1238 were for crimes that do not pose a great public danger, and 855 for less serious crimes.
The bill also addresses the problem of increasing juvenile crime in red category neighbourhoods with a high level of violations of the law. The senator stressed the need for local authorities, neighbourhoods bodies, senators and MPs to work together to address crime.
Among the proposed measures:
- enhancing propaganda and outreach;
- installation of video surveillance systems;
- improvement of the social and moral climate;
- creation of jobs and provision of employment for young people.
