Russia transfers 295 convicted Kyrgyz citizens home this year, surpassing all of 2025

According to Kyrgyzstan’s General Prosecutor’s Office, the number of citizens transferred from Russian prisons to serve their sentences in their homeland has risen for the fourth consecutive year. The agency denied transfer requests for another 52 convicts.

From January through November 12, 2026, Russia transferred 295 Kyrgyz citizens convicted by Russian courts to Kyrgyzstan to continue serving their sentences. Kyrgyzstan’s General Prosecutor’s Office provided the figures, 24.kg reports.

The figure for the incomplete year has already exceeded the total for all of 2025, when 237 people were transferred to their homeland. By comparison, 66 convicts were transferred in 2021, 54 in 2022, 79 in 2023 and 128 in 2024. The current figure is therefore more than four times higher than it was five years ago.

The transfer procedures for another 65 Kyrgyz citizens have already been completed, and they are awaiting transfer from Russian institutions.

Площадь Ала-Тоо в Бишкеке (архив)

Who was denied a transfer

The General Prosecutor’s Office stressed that each request is considered separately, taking into account the law, international treaties and the circumstances of the case. As of November 12, the agency had denied transfers for 52 convicts: 21 were serving sentences for crimes against sexual integrity, seven for terrorist offenses and another 24 for other serious crimes, including murder and kidnapping.

The prosecutor’s office considers the opportunity to serve a sentence in one’s country of citizenship to have humanitarian significance: convicts maintain contact with their families and can prepare to return to normal life.

Representative office in Russia

Kyrgyzstan’s General Prosecutor’s Office plans to open a representative office in Russia in the near future. It will protect the rights and legitimate interests of Kyrgyz citizens, cooperate with competent Russian authorities and assist in reviewing requests. Particular attention will be given to Kyrgyz citizens held in places of detention and to their transfer to their homeland.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 4.0; archive)

Russia transfers 295 convicted Kyrgyz citizens home this year, surpassing all of 2025