Journalist Ruslan Sharipov has been moved from prison to house arrest

On 13 March he was reportedly transferred to a detention centre in Tashkent region best described as an “open” prison (koloniya-poseleniye, a “penal colony settlement”). He has reportedly been allowed to live with a relative, who lives close by, so he is effectively under house arrest. He has to report daily to the prison authorities and must not undertake any public activities such as attending meetings or writing articles for publication. If he breaks these conditions he could be sent back to a stricter regime penal colony to serve the remainder of his sentence. Under a December 2003 presidential amnesty his sentence was reduced to three years, one month and 17 days. According to at least one official statement from the Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Affairs he could qualify for early release after he has served a third of his sentence, which would be on 11 June 2004.