Amnesty Bill in Honour of the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Belarus Passed in Second Reading

21 May, Minsk /BELTA/. Belarusian MPs adopted the bill "On Amnesty in connection with the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders" in the second reading today, BELTA correspondent reports.

The bill was introduced by the President of Belarus, and the document was prepared on his initiative.

As noted by Viktor Rusak, Deputy Chairman of the Standing Commission of the House of Representatives on National Security, when presenting the document, the bill is aimed at implementing the principle of humanism towards persons serving various types of criminal sentences. The document was adopted by MPs in the first reading at a meeting held on 14 May this year. According to Viktor Rusak, the bill has been refined for the second reading, and the amendments were mainly of a technical nature.

The document provides for the release from punishment of categories of citizens such as minors; pregnant women; women and single men who have children under 18 years of age; as well as men over 60 years of age and women over 55 years of age; disabled persons of groups I or II; patients with active tuberculosis (classified into dispensary groups I, II, V "A" or V "B"); cancer patients (second, third, or fourth clinical groups); HIV-infected individuals (with stages 3 and 4 of the disease according to the WHO clinical classification); combat veterans in the territory of other states; victims of the Chernobyl disaster and other radiation accidents; those who sustained injuries (concussions), mutilations, or illnesses while performing duties during military service in the Armed Forces of the USSR or Belarus, the KGB, other troops, and military formations. This concerns release from community service or correctional labour, fines, deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities, restrictions on military service, arrest, restriction of liberty, deprivation of liberty, as well as from other measures of criminal liability in the form of conviction with a suspended sentence, conviction with a conditional non-application of punishment, conviction without the imposition of punishment, and also from additional punishments. In addition, the document also provides for the removal of criminal records.

Furthermore, the amnesty may apply to those who are still under investigation, or to individuals whose sentences have been passed on the day the amnesty law comes into force. However, in any case, it will only apply to specific types of crimes.

The amnesty, in particular, does not apply to individuals convicted more than twice with a custodial sentence for intentional crimes, or those previously convicted with a custodial sentence for committing the crimes listed above. The same applies to individuals who were granted amnesty or pardon during the period 2007-2014 but subsequently committed an intentional crime while their conviction was still active or unexpunged. The document also specifies other circumstances that preclude the application of amnesty. For example, these include situations where, as of the date of the court ruling, the convicted person has not fully compensated for the harm (damage) caused by the crime and has not paid income derived from illegal entrepreneurial activities.

The draft law on amnesty also outlines various options for reducing sentences.

The law will come into force upon its official publication. Prior to this, the document must be considered and adopted by both houses of parliament and signed by the President.

In total, approximately 30,000 individuals are currently serving sentences involving deprivation of liberty, as well as restriction of liberty, in Belarus. -0-

News of Belarus (BELTA)