Russian Parliament Approves Amnesty That Could See Jailed Pussy Riot Members Released Early

[Purveyor]

By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, December 17, 2013 7:59 EST

The Russian lower house of parliament on Tuesday approved in a first reading a Kremlin-sponsored bill on amnesty that could see the jailed members of the Pussy Riot band released early.

But under the proposed measure there would be no clemency for the former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and many of the opposition demonstrators accused of using violence against police at a protest a day before President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration last year.

The amnesty will not include people “who committed crimes highly dangerous to the public, crimes that used violence or the threat of violence” and those who committed crimes or regular violations while serving their sentence, according to the text of the amnesty bill.

The amnesty does not have to be approved by the upper house of parliament and could go into effect one day after the scheduled second and third readings in the Duma on Wednesday.

The bill has been heavily criticised by rights activists as a largely cosmetic measure that does not go far enough.

MORE...

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/17/russian-parliament-approves-amnesty-that-could-see-jailed-pussy-riot-members-released-early/

[dipsydoodle]

1. Russian amnesty bill to include Greenpeace crew

MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's parliament on Wednesday amended an amnesty bill to include the 30-member crew of a Greenpeace ship detained after a protest at a floating oil rig in the Arctic.

The State Duma Wednesday morning adopted final amendments to the bill which gives amnesty to thousands of Russians, mainly minors, invalids, veterans, pregnant women, and women with children. The vote is expected on Wednesday afternoon.

The amnesty was extended to suspects of hooliganism, which means that charges against 30 people abroad a Greenpeace ship who were detained after a protest in Russia's Arctic in September are likely to be dropped. The bill is also expected to release Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina, the jailed members of the Pussy Riot punk band who are serving two years in prison on charges of hooliganism for an impromptu protest at Moscow's main cathedral.

Pyotr Verzilov, Tolokonnikova's husband, told The Associated Press that he expects that his wife could be freed on the day that the bill is published, which is likely to be Thursday.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_RUSSIA_AMNESTY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-12-18-03-56-44

[dipsydoodle]

2. Pussy Riot, Greenpeace activists granted amnesty as State Duma passes bill.

State Duma deputies on Wednesday unanimously supported the amnesty legislation submitted by President Vladimir Putin earlier this month to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the country’s Constitution. The legislation could come into force as early as this week, after it is officially published.

Pussy Riot’s Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, who are both subject to the amnesty, may be released from prison by New Year’s Eve, their lawyer Irina Khrunova told journalists.

“As a matter of fact, the situation entirely depends on whether the administrations of their penal colonies want their soonest release, but I think they would not like to procrastinate the release process for the two girls,” she said, as cited by Itar-Tass.

Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina are serving two-year jail terms for hooliganism for their protest action, called a “punk prayer,” in Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral in February 2012. The band’s third convicted member, Yeakterina Samutsevich, who received a suspended sentence, is also subject to the amnesty bill, the lawyer said.

http://rt.com/politics/pussy-riot-freed-amnesty-426/