DUSHANBE, July 20, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- As of June 30, 2009, some 8,000 inmates were held in jails in Tajikistan, Justice Minister Bakhtiyor Khudoyorov announced at a press conference in Dushanbe on July 20.

According to him, the number of life prisoners is not so large.  However, Khudoyorov refrained from giving the exact number of life prisoners in the country.

15 penal colonies and seven pretrial detention facilities now function in the country, the minister said.