Head of Moscow Helsinki Group hopes for broader amnesty
MOSCOW. April 24 (Interfax) - Lyudmila Alekseyeva, the head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, the oldest independent human rights organization in Russia, believes the amnesty devoted to the 70th anniversary of the Victory declared by the State Duma on Friday could have been broader.
"I hoped that a broader amnesty would be declared for such a big holiday," Alekseyeva told Interfax on Friday.
Pavel Krasheninnikov, the head of the State Duma committee on legislation, said the amnesty may apply to 350,000-400,000 people.
"The authorities are giving this figure, but some 200,000 of these people are not in jail, they have suspended sentences. We should feel good for them, but some 60,000 will be released form penal colonies," Alekseyeva said.
Alekseyeva recalled that the presidential human rights council had suggested amnestying those who was convicted fro non-grave crimes for the first time.
"It was important to me that all people convicted in the Bolotnaya case could walk free. I have the impression that the amnesty was developed in such a way as to prevent it form applying to the people implicated in the Bolotnaya case. It's a pity," she said.
"But I am still happy about this amnesty, especially bearing in mind that our courts are very cruel and unfair. Many people have been convicted despite being innocent or have received heavy punishment for small offences. The amnesty could have at least partially corrected this injustice. The current amnesty does this job only partially," she said.