1 of 3 CA female inmates convicted of drug offences

VIENNA – Almost one in three incarcerated women in three Central Asian countries is serving time for a drug offence, London-based Harm Reduction International (HRI) said in a March 12 statement.

In statistics presented at a March 12-16 UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs conference in Vienna, HRI said 1,600 out of the 5,137 women (31.1%) imprisoned in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are serving time for a drug violation.

HRI obtained the figures between August 2011 and February 2012 “from government agencies, including national prison services, ministries of justice and drug agencies; as well as academic researchers and civil society organisations,” it said.