Follow-up seminar on prison reform

Sascha Kuhring, Deputy Head of the Security Department at penitentiary institution Moabit; Sergey Frenkel, Deputy Head of the Public Prosecutor´s Office Tashkent, Heiko Möllendorf, Senior Prison Service Manager, Dildora Asatellaeva, local representative in Uzbekistan (from left to right).
Sascha Kuhring, Deputy Head of the Security Department at penitentiary institution Moabit; Sergey Frenkel, Deputy Head of the Public Prosecutor´s Office Tashkent, Heiko Möllendorf, Senior Prison Service Manager, Dildora Asatellaeva, local representative in Uzbekistan (from left to right).
Uzbekistan

As a follow-up to the working visit of an Uzbek delegation to Berlin in April 2024, a seminar on prison reform incorporating international standards took place in Tashkent on August 29, 2024.

The Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan opened the seminar with the Head of the International Legal department, Rustam Giyasov, and Mirmukhammad Mirkhamidov, executive Head of the Department for monitoring the legality of the execution of judicial acts. They emphasized the importance of exchanging professional experiences at the international level, the desire to improve the work with convicts and to ensure the protection of human rights. The introductory lecture by the public prosecutor Farrukh Rakhmatullayev focused on the role of the public prosecutor as a supervisory authority in the penal system.

With Sascha Kuhring, Deputy Head of the Security Department at penitentiary institution Moabit, and his colleague Heiko Möllendorf, Senior Prison Service Manager, two extremely experienced practitioners were on hand. In the context of protecting human rights in the penal system, they described the regulations of penal institutions in Germany, addressed the rights and duties of convicts, and reported on further training for prison staff and topics such as security management and hazard prevention.

The exchange of experiences was very beneficial for the participants, most of whom work in the penal system. They were particularly impressed by the opportunities for the resocialization of convicts and by the educational work of the staff in German prisons.

Training seminar for investigating judges

Gerald Rübsam (2nd from left) and Helmut Leithäuser (4th from left) at the seminar on investigative proceedings
Gerald Rübsam (2nd from left) and Helmut Leithäuser (4th from left) at the seminar on investigative proceedings
Uzbekistan

In order to strengthen operational search and investigation activities, Uzbekistan is introducing a new office of investigating judge on January 1, 2025. Against this backdrop, IRZ and the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan held a seminar on the protection of civil rights in investigative proceedings in Tashkent on August 27 and 28, 2024. Over 70 judges from all over Uzbekistan took part in the event.

IRZ experts, former presiding judge Helmut Leithäuser and former senior public prosecutor Gerald Rübsam, explained the legal foundations, framework conditions and special features of this area of law in Germany and, above all, provided practical approaches to safeguarding the rights of the accused.

The Supreme Court has already requested further consultations to share German experience and these are currently being planned.

In focus: Prevention of juvenile delinquency

Participants of the event
Participants of the event
Uzbekistan

Protection and enforcement of social rights with a special focus on young people were the focus of a seminar held in Tashkent in May 2024. The focus was on the prevention of juvenile delinquency. IRZ organised the event in close cooperation with the General Prosecutor's Office, a long-standing partner of IRZ, and the newly founded Agency for Social Protection in Tashkent.

The experts presented and discussed proven preventive measures and strategies against juvenile delinquency and introduced various best-practice models for prevention, rehabilitation and resocialisation. Together with the participants, they discussed the important role of education and vocational training. The team of experts discussed the perspectives of the family court and best practices in dealing with juvenile delinquency in a practical manner.

Visits to the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the German Embassy in Tashkent rounded off the programme.

The seminar in Tashkent was an important step towards strengthening the protection and enforcement of social rights in Uzbekistan. The discussion and presentation of various prevention strategies and resocialisation programmes provided valuable impetus for combating juvenile delinquency in the country.