DUSHANBE, March 31, 2016, Asia-Plus – Tajikistan has toughened punishment for smuggling mobile phones to prisons.
The government has worked out a draft law on amendments to the country’s administrative code.
One of the amendments stipulates that smuggling a mobile phone to a prison is punishable by a fine.
The amount of a fine is 1,200 somoni.
An official source at the Ministry of Justice says the amendment is aimed at observing security measures in penitentiary institutions and preventing “crimes with participation of inmates.”
Prison inmates are forbidden from possessing mobile phones due to their ability to communicate with the outside world and other security issues. Mobile phones are one of the most smuggled items into prisons. They provide inmates the ability to make and receive unauthorized phone calls, send email and text messages, use social media, and follow news pertaining to their case, among other forbidden uses.
