The visiting UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief Ahmed Shaheed today met with the Uzbek Interior Minister Pulat Bobodjonov and discussed issues of ensuring constitutional rights of freedom of religion of prisoners and persons in custody, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
Minister Bobodjonov noted that inmates are guaranteed the freedom of religion. They may request for servers of officially registered religious associations, may hold religious ceremonies and use religious objects and literature.
The sides noted that to date, Uzbekistan has one of the lowest rates in the world in terms of the number of people held in detention centers, 137 people per 100 thousand population, which is one of the lowest figures among the CIS countries, Europe and the USA.
The penitentiary institutions in Uzbekistan is full by an average of 80%, while the main problem in some countries of the world is the overcrowded prisons.
