New Penal Code must give full amnesty for economic crimes - lawyer
MOSCOW. Oct 13 (Interfax) - Famous lawyer Vadim Klyuvgant has welcomed the initiative by head of the Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Studies Nikolai Fyodorov, calling for a new, more humane Penal Code to be developed in Russia.
"In my view, the reform is long overdue, Nikolai Fyodorov said nothing new for us here. Since the Code is contradictory, by spirit it is in another era," Klyuvgant said.
First of all, the new Penal Code must take into account more humane measures toward entrepreneurs charged with economic crimes, he said.
"The current code is extremely repressive and drags the country back, this is primarily the case for the most active part of the society, for entrepreneurs. The passage of a new code must start from full amnesty, primarily, for economic crimes, of which many people were convicted precisely under the current repressive code, which, by the way, is not always complied with," he added.
Hopefully, the initiative to develop a new Penal Code will be of a systemic and not pre-election nature, he said.
"This issue must be dealt with not as part of an election campaign, but genuinely, with relevant experts involved," the lawyer said.
