Russia is prepared to facilitate the transfer of more than 3,000 Uzbek citizens convicted on its territory to serve their sentences in Uzbekistan, but the process remains stalled due to legal obstacles, Kommersant reported, citing Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova.
Speaking at a meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Human Rights Commission, Moskalkova said Russia is willing to support the transfer mechanism. However, she noted that Uzbekistan cannot currently accept the prisoners because it has not ratified the 1998 Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons.
“Russia is ready to assist, but the country of citizenship cannot accept them due to the lack of ratification of the convention,” she said, according to RIA Novosti.
The agreement allows individuals convicted in one participating country to serve their sentences in their home country. It is intended to support rehabilitation and improve humanitarian conditions by allowing individuals to remain closer to their families and social environment.
Russia ratified the convention in 1998, and it is also in force in several countries in the region, including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Armenia. For Uzbek nationals, however, Uzbekistan’s absence from the treaty has prevented similar transfers.
As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, in 2025, 191 Uzbek citizens applied for asylum in Russia, highlighting shifting migration patterns and increasing pressure on legal and humanitarian systems in the region.
