The editorial team of "AKIpress Summary" together with the press service of the State Penitentiary Service shared his story.
The young man and his accomplices committed the theft of a large batch of cigarettes from a supermarket chain warehouse worth 800,000 som, as well as stole a Toyota Camry XV 75. Upon his arrest, the boy took all the blame upon himself, as he claims. In 2024, he was sentenced to 6 years in prison.
“I thought I had real friends nearby. But when I was arrested, no one supported me. Not even a ‘care package’ was sent,” he says about his feelings.
Now the young man regrets his actions and believes that a bad company pushed him onto the criminal path. He recalls living with his parents until the first grade, until they went abroad, and his paternal grandmother took care of him. Later, he moved to Bishkek with relatives and continued his studies at school.
Currently, he does not keep in touch with his parents and assumes that perhaps if they had been around, his life would have turned out differently.
When talking about himself, he is not very talkative, but when it comes to his peers on the outside, his emotions become more vivid. His main advice for his peers is to listen to their parents.
In his opinion, many teenagers, ignoring family advice and choosing the "street," end up behind bars.
“If I had listened to my relatives — I wouldn’t have ended up here,” he emphasizes.
The boy notes that life in the colony has taught him discipline: here he is taught to get up on time, follow a routine, and use his time wisely.
He is taking welding courses, and upon completion, he will receive a diploma of vocational education, which will not indicate that the training took place in a correctional facility, so it won't hinder his future employment.
In his free time, the young man plays football and communicates with other inmates.
He will soon turn 18, and he will be transferred to an adult facility.
He understands that it will be harder in the new place. The teenager does not believe that time in prison should just be "doing time." He strives to work, learn languages, and change, so he can meet freedom as a completely different person.
After being released, he intends to start a new life. His dream is to open a small business and live honestly, without theft and deception.
“I want to achieve everything through my own labor,” he says.
His grandmother and uncles will be waiting for him on the outside, but he does not intend to return to his old acquaintances.
The young man also shares his experience of life in a juvenile correctional facility.
They wake up at 6:30 AM, followed by a run and morning exercises. After that, the inmates are divided into groups, clean the premises, and tidy them up. Breakfast is the next step.
Then various work, formation, and inspections follow. School lessons continue until 12:00 PM, after which vocational training (welding and sewing) begins. After lunch, there is more work until 4:00 PM, dinner, and completing homework. Lights out is at 9:00 PM.
Sometimes he falls asleep immediately, but there are times when he lies awake for a long time, thinking about freedom, his loved ones, and what his return to normal life will be like.
