House of Representative: amnesty bill being prepared for consideration in Belarus

The Government has submitted to the House of Representatives a draft law on amnesty in connection with the 80th anniversary of Belarus’ liberation from Nazi invaders, and the amnesty is likely to be applied to more than 7 thousand convicts – as informed by Gennady Lepeshko, the Chairman of the Standing Commission of the House of Representatives on National Security

“In comparison with previous amnesties, the present bill has novelties: i.e. the amnesty will be for the first time applied to convicts who have been sentenced to community and correctional work. In the opinion of our commission, the draft law provides a balance of human interests, society and the state, and observance of constitutional guarantees of personal safety of citizens in connection with the upcoming amnesty. In the near future, the draft law will be sent to the Head of State," Mr. Lepeshko said.

An amnesty is traditionally announced on the eve of significant dates in the history of Belarus, and the forthcoming one will be the eighteenth in a row. At the beginning of the year, the issue was discussed at a meeting with the Head of State, and it was decided that pregnant women, minors, convicts who have minor children, those affected by the consequences of the Chernobyl accident, persons entitled to exemptions, veterans of military operations on the territory of other states, and other persons will be granted amnesty. It is expected that the bill can be adopted in two readings at once at the current session.