CAT/OP/KAZ/1/Add.1 207. Convicted prisoners held under the strict regime, in a disciplinary unit or in solitary confinement as a sanction have the right to a telephone conversation in exceptional personal circumstances, including in the event that their spouse or a close relative dies or has a serious, life-threatening illness or that a natural disaster has caused significant financial damage to their family. 208. In accordance with article 113 of the Penalties Enforcement Code, convicted prisoners held in institutions, as well as those placed in mixed-security institutions or transferred to full-security institutions to carry out maintenance work, are entitled to short periods of temporary release outside the institution of no longer than seven days in the event that their spouse or a close relative dies or has a serious, life-threatening illness or that a natural disaster has caused significant financial damage to their family; and, for those in a minimum-security institution, to extended temporary release for the period of annual paid leave. 209. Women convicted prisoners who have a child in an institution’s children’s unit are entitled to a short period of temporary release to place the child in the care of their spouse or relatives or in a children’s home. 210. Women convicted prisoners who have minor children with disabilities outside the institution are entitled to one short period of temporary release per year to see them. 211. Juvenile convicted prisoners and convicted prisoners who have a category I or II disability and require constant care for health reasons are allowed to be accompanied by a spouse, relative or other accompanying person during their period of temporary release. 212. Convicted prisoners’ applications for temporary release are considered within 24 hours. Periods of temporary release are granted by the director or the officer in charge with due regard to the requirements set out in article 113 (3) of the Penalties Enforcement Code and the conduct of the convicted prisoner in question. 213. Time that convicted prisoners spend outside the institution counts towards their sentence. 214. In accordance with article 116 of the Penalties Enforcement Code, children’s units can be set up in institutions in which female convicted prisoners with children are serving sentences. 215. These children’s units offer children the necessary conditions for a normal life and development. 216. Women convicted prisoners who have children aged under 3 years place them in an institution’s children’s unit and, when they are free from work, can spend as much time with their children as they wish. They are allowed to live with their children. 217. Point 6 of the plan of measures to implement the 2017–2019 comprehensive strategy for the social rehabilitation of citizens released from places of deprivation of liberty who are registered with the probation service, approved by Government Decision No. 912 of 29 December 2016, provides for a pilot project to be conducted at one of the institutions of the penal correction system to enable convicted prisoners to use modern information technology to have video visits from their families. 218. This promotes meaningful relationships and law-abiding behaviour and incentivizes early release. Paragraph 108 The Subcommittee recalls that disciplinary punishments should be strictly proportional, and recommends that the system of disciplinary punishment be reviewed, as current punishment terms are clearly excessive. Also, prisoners should be enabled to challenge disciplinary sanctions before an independent body. Imposing criminal sanctions, i.e. additional prison terms of several years, for disciplinary violations is excessive and suggests that the penitentiary system is deficient when dealing with offences by detainees. In the light of these findings, the Subcommittee 26 GE.19-01981