MOSCOW, April 3 (Itar-Tass) —— The Liberal Democratic Party’s faction in the State Duma has proposed an amnesty timed to coincide with the inauguration of President Elect Vladimir Putin.
Party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky and faction head Igor Lebedev submitted a draft amnesty resolution on Tuesday.
“The inauguration of a president elect is a festive event in any democratic country. So, we propose to announce an amnesty, which, by the way, has not been done in Russia for a long time,” Lebedev told Itar-Tass.
He said the party proposed to amnesty the traditional groups of convicts, such as minors, people who committed misdemeanors, mothers of underage children, pregnant women and people with disabilities. “We will insist on the State Duma’s consideration of the draft resolution before May so that it enters into force simultaneously with the inauguration of Vladimir Putin,” Lebedev said.
Yet the State Duma Committee for Civil, Criminal and Arbitration Law and Practice objected to the accelerated discussion of the amnesty resolution. “Amnesty is not an act, which may be endorsed hastily. It is necessary to evaluate its possible consequences with the assistance of relevant ministries. That cannot be done within such a short time,” Committee Chairman Pavel Krasheninnikov told Itar-Tass.