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No amnesty to pedophiles and terrorists

Presidential envoy to the State Duma Garry Minkh: act of amnesty granted on the occasion of the Russian Constitution shall not apply to pedophiles and terrorists, regardless of amendments

© ITAR-TASS/Sergei Karpov

MOSCOW, December 17. /ITAR-TASS/. An act of amnesty granted on the occasion of the Russian Constitution shall not apply to pedophiles and terrorists, said Presidential envoy to the State Duma Garry Minkh. " I can voice my support to such proposals," the presidential envoy declared , commenting on declarations made by Duma MPs that applying amnesty to such categories was inadmissible.

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“A technical quandary has arisen as regards problems connected with the struggle against terrorism,” Minkh said. The bill which amends the Russian Constitution had not been signed yet when a draft resolution on amnesty was being prepared. No amendments had practically existed then. Now, the bill has been signed and come into force, and in that sense the draft resolution has to be amended, the presidential envoy said.

The State Duma has discussed at first reading a package of amnesty bills which have declared amnesty on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution.

On the agenda were ten alternative amnesty bills, including a principal bill submitted by President Putin on December 9 and the other bills initiated by Duma deputies.

According to the accompanying documents, amnesty should be granted to some 25,000 people, including convicts from the most socially vulnerable groups of the population, suspects accused of crimes and people who were earlier acclaimed for their merit to Russia.

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