Post by Admin on Dec 18, 2013 22:31:50 GMT
Russia's lower house of parliament has given a third reading to the amnesty bill, which means jailed members of Pussy Riot punk band may be freed before the New Year and charges against arrested Greenpeace activists are also to be dropped.
Member of the female punk band Pussy Riot Nadezhda Tolokonnikova looks out from a holding cell as she attends a court hearing to appeal for parole at the Supreme Court of Mordovia in Saransk, in July.
Russia's parliament on Wednesday adopted an amnesty which lawyers said would free two jailed members of punk band Pussy Riot and enable 30 people arrested in a Greenpeace protest against Arctic oil drilling to avoid trial. Such an outcome would remove two of many irritants in ties with the West before Russia hosts the Winter Olympics in February. Concern over Russia's treatment of gays is already threatening to cloud the atmosphere at the Sochi Games.
Maria Alyokhina, jailed member of Russian punk band Pussy Riot, looks out from a defendants’ box as she attends a court hearing in Nizhny Novgorod in September
A lawyer for Ms Tolokonnikova and Ms Alyokhina, whose prison terms end in March, said she hoped they would walk free within days. “It’s a very narrow amnesty. I’m very glad it applies to my clients,” lawyer Irina Khrunova said by telephone. The amnesty will take effect when it is published in the official government gazette, which is expected on Thursday.
Members of Pussy Riot, Maria Alyokhina, left, Yekaterina Samutsevich, center, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova in a Moscow court, on Oct. 10, 2012.
The amnesty targets prisoner categories such as pregnant women or young mothers, invalids, men over 60 or convicts aged 16-18 serving up to five years, according to Lukin. Greenpeace mounted a worldwide campaign to press Russia to drop the charges against its activists. The imprisonment of the Pussy Riot members also drew global condemnation, with support from pop stars such as Madonna and Paul McCartney.
The 28 Greenpeace activists and two journalists from 18 countries, who face as long as seven years in prison for the protest targeting OAO Gazprom (GAZP)’s Arctic offshore oil platform, were set free on bail last month by courts in St. Petersburg. The campaign to free the Greenpeace group included 860 protests in 150 cities in 46 countries, while more than 2.6 million people wrote to Russian embassies, according to the environmental organization.
Member of the female punk band Pussy Riot Nadezhda Tolokonnikova looks out from a holding cell as she attends a court hearing to appeal for parole at the Supreme Court of Mordovia in Saransk, in July.
Russia's parliament on Wednesday adopted an amnesty which lawyers said would free two jailed members of punk band Pussy Riot and enable 30 people arrested in a Greenpeace protest against Arctic oil drilling to avoid trial. Such an outcome would remove two of many irritants in ties with the West before Russia hosts the Winter Olympics in February. Concern over Russia's treatment of gays is already threatening to cloud the atmosphere at the Sochi Games.
Maria Alyokhina, jailed member of Russian punk band Pussy Riot, looks out from a defendants’ box as she attends a court hearing in Nizhny Novgorod in September
A lawyer for Ms Tolokonnikova and Ms Alyokhina, whose prison terms end in March, said she hoped they would walk free within days. “It’s a very narrow amnesty. I’m very glad it applies to my clients,” lawyer Irina Khrunova said by telephone. The amnesty will take effect when it is published in the official government gazette, which is expected on Thursday.
Members of Pussy Riot, Maria Alyokhina, left, Yekaterina Samutsevich, center, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova in a Moscow court, on Oct. 10, 2012.
The amnesty targets prisoner categories such as pregnant women or young mothers, invalids, men over 60 or convicts aged 16-18 serving up to five years, according to Lukin. Greenpeace mounted a worldwide campaign to press Russia to drop the charges against its activists. The imprisonment of the Pussy Riot members also drew global condemnation, with support from pop stars such as Madonna and Paul McCartney.
The 28 Greenpeace activists and two journalists from 18 countries, who face as long as seven years in prison for the protest targeting OAO Gazprom (GAZP)’s Arctic offshore oil platform, were set free on bail last month by courts in St. Petersburg. The campaign to free the Greenpeace group included 860 protests in 150 cities in 46 countries, while more than 2.6 million people wrote to Russian embassies, according to the environmental organization.