The cash-strapped government of Kyrgyzstan is considering a novel way of raising revenue by injecting an element of pleasure into punishment. According to a report distributed by the Current Time channel, prisoners in the Central Asian nations may soon be able to purchase upgrades to improve their incarceration experience.

Depending on the cost and their means, any Kyrgyz prisoner willing to pony up the required cash may soon be able to do time in a luxury cell. The payment scheme will soon have a test run, according to Kyrgyz officials. 

“The experimental regime involves the creation of an isolated section in one of the correctional institutions,” says Kemel Sadykov, deputy head of the Kyrgyz Penitentiary Service. “A pilot project will be implemented there with pay cells for convicts, where the conditions will possibly resemble those of a sanatorium. Why not? A similar practice has already been implemented in Ukraine and a number of other countries.”

In Ukraine, an upgraded experience is available only to those being held in pre-trial detention, i.e. those suspected of, but not yet convicted of, a crime. The Kyrgyz variant will apparently be available for convicted felons.

The Kyrgyz Penitentiary Service did not provide details on what upgraded prison cells would feature, and what additional privileges paying prisoners would receive. Officials also have not mentioned anything about the cost of upgrading. No matter, there appears to be no shortage of convicts willing to pay what it takes to improve their quality of life behind bars.

Critics of the plan assert that the idea of creating “business class” for convicts will exacerbate corruption within the prison system, which, according to many who have spent time inside, is already rampant.

This article first appeared on Eurasianet here.