OSCE trains police and prison administration to prevent extremism in Kyrgyzstan’s prisons

Some 50 prison and police officers of Kyrgyzstan’s State Penitentiary Service (GSIN)  discussed on 4 September 2013 in Bishkek ways to prevent extremism and radicalization in prisons at an OSCE-supported training seminar.

The OSCE Centre in Bishkek organized the event together with GSIN, the Kyrgyzstan Interior Ministry and the State Committee on National Security. The opening ceremony was attended by the Grand Mufti of the Kyrgyz Republic Rahmatula azhy Egemberdiev who delivered a speech on countering religious extremism.

The three-day course aims to help the authorities to improve co-operation between government institutions in countering extremist tendencies in prisons and strengthen skills of the prison officers involved in inmates education. The seminar participants will learn about behavioural monitoring aimed to prevent potential involvement of inmates in terrorist activities, and will look at human rights concerns that need to be addressed when conducting such monitoring.

“Training on timely detection and prevention of radical trends among prison inmates will improve Kyrgyzstan authorities’ ability to fight potential extremist activities and enhance the overall stability of the prison system,” said Penitentiary Reform Adviser of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, Miroslaw Nowak.

This seminar is part of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek efforts in assisting the penitentiary reform process in Kyrgyzstan. Since 2010, the OSCE Centre organized some 50 training events and seminars on similar topics for more than 500 Kyrgyzstan’s prison administration officers.