Pardons in 2019–2020

The President of Ukraine is constitutionally empowered to grant pardons to convicted persons. According to data from the Pardons Department of the Office of the President of Ukraine, 536 petitions for the pardon of 359 convicts were received in the first half of 2020. The Pardons Commission held three meetings during which petitions for the pardon of 96 convicts were reviewed. During this time, the President signed two decrees pardoning 10 persons.
During 2019, the Pardons Department received 1,121 petitions for the pardon of 688 convicts. At eight meetings of the Commission in 2019, petitions for the pardon of 359 convicts were reviewed. The President issued eight decrees throughout the year, through which 97 persons were pardoned.
It is appropriate to note that a portion of the convicts were pardoned within the framework of exchange agreements with militants for the release of Ukrainian prisoners and hostages. The Pardons Department has not provided exact data regarding this share of convicts.