Russian Parliament Approves Amnesty That Could See Jailed Pussy Riot Members Released Early [View all]

[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.

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