DUSHANBE, January 25, Asia-Plus - 6,687 people have been under Tajikistan’s amnesty law adopted last year on occasion of the 15 ^th anniversary of Tajikistan’s Independence, Justice minister Bakhtiyor Khudoyorov announced at a news conference in Dushanbe on January 24.  

According to him, under the law, the amnesty will last for one month more.  

In 2001, nearly 10,000 people were released under amnesty.  In all, 10 amnesties have been granted in Tajikistan since 1993.

According to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), before the amnesty law some 12,000 prisoners served their sentences in penal colonies in Tajikistan.  At present, five pretrial detention facilities and 11 penal colonies function in Tajikistan.  

Speaking to journalists, the minister noted that 957 prisoners suffer from tuberculosis and 87 other prisoners in Tajikistan live with HIV.  “Last year, 74 prisoners suffering from TB died,” Khudoyorov noted. 

At present, some 4,000 Tajik nationals are serving their sentences outside Tajikistan, according to MoJ.