The Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. ZRU-1114 of 15 January 2026 provides for a reduction of the sentence of convicts for reading books. Resolution No. 307 of the Cabinet of Ministers of 12 June 2026, “On Organizing the Activities of the Commission for Confirming the Fact of Reading by Convicts in Penal Institutions of Literature Aimed at Fostering Proper Spiritual and Moral Values During the Serving of Sentence,” establishes the procedure for confirming the fact that convicts have read the prescribed literature and for organizing the activities of the commissions in this area.

In settlement colonies No. 29 and No. 30, located in the city of Jizzakh and Zafarabad District of Jizzakh Region, testing was conducted to confirm the fact of reading books from a specially approved list of literature on the theme “The Book – the Path to Spiritual Freedom.” The purpose of the event is the moral rehabilitation of convicts serving their sentences and the fostering of spiritual and moral values in them.

The testing, conducted by a commission composed of the Ombudsman’s regional representative in Jizzakh Region, U. Juraev, staff of the institutions, and members of the public, involved 23 convicts.

The testing was organized in electronic form and held transparently. It made it possible to assess not only the convicts’ knowledge of the content of the books, but also the degree to which they understood such concepts as life lessons, kindness, honesty, humanity, and responsibility.

An important feature of this practice is that for each book read by a convict, the sentence may be reduced by 3 days, but by no more than thirty days per year.