Uzbekistan Proposes Online Shopping for Convicts

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Convicts in Uzbekistan may soon be permitted to purchase allowed food items, personal belongings, and other goods through infokiosks, websites, and mobile applications under a new regulatory draft released for public discussion by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The proposed amendments to the Internal Rules of Penal Institutions would allow both convicts and their relatives to make purchases using electronic platforms. These include infokiosks installed inside correctional facilities as well as external websites and mobile applications.

Penal institutions will monitor all acquired goods to ensure compliance with approved product lists and technical specifications, including packaging requirements. Items purchased in excess of weight or quantity limits will be placed in facility storage and released to convicts upon written request.

Under the draft project, convicts serving sentences in open settlement colonies will be exempt from standard weight and quantity limits on stored items, as well as monthly spending caps.

The ministry has also drafted a detailed schedule of authorized food and non-food items available for purchase and storage.

Permitted food supplies include bread, baked goods, pasta, salted and smoked fish, cheese, butter, confectionery, tea, coffee, fresh produce, nuts, dried fruits, canned goods, sauces, condensed milk, kurt, instant noodles, and non-alcoholic beverages. The list also permits certain tobacco products, including cigarettes and naswar, matches, and stationery items, provided all goods strictly meet mandated safety and packaging standards.