In 2003, the Uzbek government allowed delegations from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to make 30 visits to penal establishments in the country, in some cases visiting the same facility more than once, Tribune-uz.info reported on 26 January. In 2002, the ICRC was allowed five prison visits, and in 2001 four. In the late 1990s the Uzbek authorities rejected all requests for prison visits. The report further noted that in 2003 the European Union\'s Cooperation Commission with Uzbekistan was allowed to visit a prison in Tashkent Oblast, and a number of European Union ambassadors in Tashkent were allowed in October to visit Jaslyk Prison, which is notorious for the high number of deaths among inmates. (tribune-uz.info)