President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov met with the parents and relatives of those arrested and convicted for drug-related crimes, the presidential press service reported.
During the meeting, the participants appealed to the president to change their pretrial detention to house arrest and to mitigate the sentences for those convicted. They also raised the issue of amending legislation to make it more humane.
According to the relatives, most of the defendants are young, but there are also older individuals among them. They stated that the detainees had no previous criminal record and were being detained for the first time. It was also noted that some of them were found to be in possession of small amounts of prohibited substances.
The President stated that in certain cases, he is ready to consider pardoning first-time offenders, provided there are grounds for doing so and the established procedures are followed.
He added that this requires the submission of an official petition, which will be reviewed in accordance with the established legal procedure.
Following the meeting, the head of state emphasized the need to strengthen preventive and educational work among young people, as well as to improve the effectiveness of interagency cooperation in combating drug trafficking.
Furthermore, the President instructed the relevant departments of the Presidential Administration to review current anti-drug legislation.
