Penitentiary System Employee Day in Kyrgyzstan Date in the current year: August 12, 2024

A country’s penitentiary system is responsible for running places for the confinement and punishment of persons convicted of crimes, as well as facilities where people charged with crimes are imprisoned until their trial.

The formation of the penitentiary system of the present-day Kyrgyz Republic began 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the country’s independence. Prior to that, Kyrgyzstan was part of the Russian Empire from the second half of the 19th century to 1917 and a constituent republic of the USSR from 1918 to 1991. As a result, its penitentiary system used to be a constituent part of the penitentiary system of the Russian Empire and then of the Soviet Union.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it became obvious that the existing penitentiary system of Kyrgyzstan, which was built on the Soviet model, needed to be reformed. On August 12, 2003, the Supreme Council of the Kyrgyz Republic adopted the Law on Bodies and Institutions of the Penitentiary System, which outlined the basic responsibilities and obligations of the authorities tasked with the detention of persons who have committed crimes and the execution of criminal penalties.

The law also secured the legal status of the penitentiary system and its personnel, as well as established the main tasks of the state penitentiary system: ensuring law and order in penitentiary institutions; ensuring the safety and security of convicted offenders and persons taken into custody; executing punishments that do not involve incarceration; ensuring the health of convicts; conducting criminal intelligence and surveillance operations and assisting law enforcement agencies in solving and preventing crimes.

The structure of the penitentiary system of Kyrgyzstan includes penitentiary institutions, probation departments, pre-trial detention facilities, and subdivisions of the Department of the Security of Correctional Institutions and the Escort of Convicts and Persons in Custody. The penitentiary system may also include other institutions that are specifically created to support the penitentiary system such as medical institutions, educational institutions, etc. Such institutions are created by a special decision of the government.

Penitentiary System Employee Day is one of the official professional holidays celebrated in Kyrgyzstan. It was established to commemorate the adoption of the Law on Bodies and Institutions of the Penitentiary System and to highlight the contribution of penitentiary system employees to society. Like most professional holidays, it is not a non-working day unless it falls during a weekend.

Penitentiary System Employee Day is mostly celebrated by people working in the penitentiary system and their families; most of the general public are not even aware of its existence. Celebratory events include awards and commendation ceremonies to acknowledge employees who’ve distinguished themselves over the past year.