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The members of the ***** Riot punk band, Greenpeace activists and protesters jailed after the May 2012 Bolotnaya demonstration will be freed in an amnesty dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution, Russian media report.A total of 25,000 people will be freed under the amnesty initiated by President Putin, Interfax cited Vladimir Vasilyev, deputy speaker of parliament, as saying.
“Around 1,300 people will be released from prison, and 17,500 people will be relieved of non-custodial sentences. In addition, criminal proceedings against nearly 6,000 can be terminated,” Vasilyev said.
Several Russian media outlets including Izvestia and Vedomosti newspapers have obtained a copy of the draft amnesty, which was submitted to the parliament by President Vladimir Putin on Monday.
According to the papers, the participants in such high-profile cases as the ***** Riot Cathedral protest, Greenpeace’s Arctic Sunrise boarding of an oil rig and the Bolotnaya Square riots will all be granted amnesty.
The upcoming amnesty won’t apply to those who committed crimes that posed a serious danger to society, Vladimir Vasilyev said, adding that the amnesty will give preference to convicts in vulnerable social categories and people who have served the country.
It will favor all minors, mothers with small children, pregnant women, women over 55 and men over 60, the disabled, Chernobyl cleanup workers and military veterans, he said.
According to Vedomosti newspaper, the draft amnesty covers three articles of the criminal code “as an exception,” which means that those, who were convicted under them, will be freed or relived from punishment regardless of age, sex and social status.
Read more @: http://rt.com/news/amnesty-bill-putin-parliament-951/
Great news! Glad a lot of people including members of ***** Riot and Greenpeace are finally going to be freed but they never deserved to be in jail in the first place, but overall this is good news.