Amnesty In Belarus: Who Will Be Released?

The approval of the draft law on amnesty in connection with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus is almost complete.

The government agencies have approved the draft law on amnesty, prepared for the day of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders, BelTA informs referring to Ihar Shunevich, Interior Minister.

In general, the work on the law is fully completed and only the agreement remains, which is also approaching the final stage.

– If there are any changes, they will be introduced after the conciliatory meeting, – the head of the security agency said.

It is specified that the Ministry of Internal Affairs has not made any changes to the draft law. Probably, following the examination of the draft law by the interested bodies, the opinions will be expressed on the expediency of adopting the amnesty law.

– If there are no comments, the document will be adopted in the current version, – Shunevich summed up.

Earlier it became known that about 2 thousand people will be released under the amnesty to the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus, while the law may affect about 6.5 thousand prisoners. Single parents with minor children, disabled people, Chernobyl liquidators, pregnant women, as well as first-time offenders will be able to go free. But corrupt officials and convicts under particularly serious articles, including murders, may not count on amnesty.

To date, about 36 thousand people remain in detention in Belarus. This puts our country on the 25th place in the world ranking of the number of prisoners – 343 per 100 thousand people. This is the highest figure among the European countries, Belsat notes.