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Peskov: Russian president decides himself to submit draft amnesty act in State Duma

The amnesty may embrace up to 100,000 people

Russian President Vladimir Putin ITAR-TASS/Alexei Nikolsky

Russian President Vladimir Putin

© ITAR-TASS/Alexei Nikolsky

NOVO-OGAREVO, December 04. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin decided himself to submit in the State Duma lower house of Russian parliament a draft amnesty act to mark the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution, Russian president’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.

“The president decided himself to submit this bill,” Peskov said.

Amnesty to about 100,000 people

The amnesty marking the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution may embrace up to 100,000 people, Chairman of the Presidential Council of Human Rights Mikhail Fedotov believes. “The amnesty will embrace only those who committed the crimes that did not entail heavy and irreversible consequences,” Fedotov told reporters after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Russian countryside presidential residence on Wednesday.

Russian Presidential Human Rights Commissioner Vladimir Lukin believes that the amnesty may spread onto 30,000-50,000 people.

Opposition figurehead Aleksey Navalny comes under the effect of the amnesty, according to Mikhail Fedotov. “He received the suspended sentence and according to the variant of the amnesty that we were discussing he comes under the effect of amnesty,” Fedotov said.

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