In Ukraine, a mass of prisoners will be released “to freedom with a clear conscience”

On 4 February, 311 people’s deputies out of 405 registered in the hall voted in the first reading for the draft law on amnesty in 2011.

The draft law determines the legal foundations for release from criminal responsibility and serving of a criminal sentence on the basis of an act of amnesty.

In particular, the draft law proposes to release from punishment in the form of imprisonment for a certain term, as well as from other punishments not connected with imprisonment, those convicted of intentional crimes that are not grave or especially grave.

This applies to those individuals who were minors at the time of committing the crime; women pregnant on the day this law comes into force (in the event of its adoption); individuals not deprived of parental rights who had not yet turned 18 on the day this law comes into force, or disabled children regardless of their age; individuals who, on the day this law comes into force, are recognised as disabled of the I, II, or III groups, as well as those ill with an active form of tuberculosis, oncological diseases, AIDS, and other serious diseases that hinder the serving of a sentence.

It is also proposed to release from punishment men and women who, on the day this law comes into force, have reached the age of 60 and 55, respectively; war veterans; combatants; war disabled and war veterans falling under the operation of the law on the status of war veterans and social protection guarantees, as well as participants in the liquidation of the consequences of the ChNPP accident and victims as a result of the Chernobyl catastrophe.

Furthermore, the draft law proposes to release from punishment in the form of imprisonment for a certain term and from other punishments those convicted of intentional crimes for which the law provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of no more than 10 years, if on the day this law comes into force they have served at least half of said term.

It is also proposed to release from punishment in the form of detention in a disciplinary battalion military personnel convicted of crimes of small or medium severity, as well as those convicted for the first time for grave crimes, if on the day this law comes into force they have served at least half of the assigned term of the main punishment.

In terms of the number of prisoners, Ukraine ranks 10th in the world.