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Some 2,000 prisoners may soon be released under amnesty, Lukashenka says

Some 2,000 people may soon be amnestied and released from correctional institutions in Belarus, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said Tuesday, speaking at a meeting with a group of Belarusian media leaders at the newly built Palace of Independence in Minsk.

According to the Belarusian leader, he has a generally positive attitude towards amnesty campaigns and it is usually him who initiates them.

An amnesty campaign similar to those conducted in recent years can be carried out in the country soon, Mr. Lukashenka said, noting that previous amnesty campaigns had showed that they would not increase the crime rate.
As Mr. Lukashenka said, the prison population in Belarus decreased from some 70,000 in the 1990s to about 30,000 at present, with the crime rate decreasing by six to 10 percent every year.

“Amnesty campaigns do not lead to a surge in the crime rate, so we can do this,” he said.
There is almost no doubt that another amnesty campaign will be conducted in Belarus next year, Interior Minister Ihar Shunevich told reporters in December 2013.

It is up to the legislators to decide which categories of convicts should be eligible for amnesty, Mr. Shunevich added.

The implementation of a 2012 law providing for an amnesty for certain categories of prisoners on the occasion of Independence Day (July 3) reportedly resulted in the release of as many as 4,226 people from correctional institutions of all types and security levels.

According to the interior ministry, a total of 18,737 convicts were eligible for amnesty under the law.

A total of 6,957 people had their prison sentences reduced by one year and 7,554 inmates were denied amnesty because they had not fully paid compensation for the damage caused by their crimes or were persistent violators of prison rules.

The amnesty law stipulated that no amnesty might be granted to people convicted on charges of, among other things, organizing and participating in mass disorder, organizing and preparing actions that are in gross violation of public order or active participation in them, defaming the head of state and violating regulations governing “mass events.” This means that Mr. Lukashenka`s imprisoned political opponents were not eligible.

That was been the 10th amnesty campaign in the country since 1994. The previous amnesty campaign was conducted in 2010, on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in the 1941-45 Great Patriotic War. As many as 3,300 people were then released from correctional institutions and almost 9,000 people had their prison sentences shortened by one year, according to the interior ministry.

The ministry says that up to 10 percent of people released under an amnesty relapse into crime. //BelaPAN