Russian amnesty applied mostly to non-incarceration sentences
MOSCOW. June 19 (Interfax) - The amnesty timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution, marked by the release of high-profile convicts, has ended.
The State Duma announced the six-month amnesty on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution on December 18, 2013.
The decree envisaged a release from prison and exemption from criminal liability for the most vulnerable social groups of convicts, several categories of suspects and accused, as well as individuals rewarded for certain services to the Russian state.
Unlike the previous ones, the December act was marked by the release of a number of individuals who drew much public and media attention.
In particular, it was reported that the amnesty extended to the members of the punk band Pussy Riot, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Mariya Alyokhina, who were convicted of hooliganism inside the Christ the Savior Cathedral, and members of the Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise, who were arrested after attacking the Prirazlomnaya platform in the Pechora Sea.
Also relieved from criminal prosecution were eleven people charged with causing disturbances in Bolotnaya Square on May 6, 2012: Vladimir Akimenkov, Mariya Baronova, Nikolai Kavkazsky, Leonid Kovyazin, Dmitry Rukavishnikov, Anastasiya Rybachenko, Dmitry Altaichinov, Fyodor Bakhov, Rikhard Sobolev, Aleksandr Kamensky, and Oleg Arkhipenkov.
Ex-defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov, who was accused of negligence, also fell under the amnesty.
The total number of people who fell under the State Duma's amnesty will be announced in the very near future, a spokesperson for the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) told Interfax.
Over 22,700 convicts had been released as of late, the FSIN said. In particular, over 550 people were released from correctional facilities and 75 teenagers from reform schools.
Also, about 400 people were released from pre-trial detention centers and from under house arrest after courts and investigators dropped criminal charges against them.
Another 45 people were relieved of court-imposed penalties.
The remainder under the amnesty, around 22,000 people, including those sentenced to a penalty not involving incarceration, had their files removed from criminal-enforcement inspectorates.
