Putin says he supports idea of granting amnesty for ‘certain categories of women prisoners’

Russian President Vladimir Putin supported the idea of granting amnesty to some women who are held in prison, which was suggested by Eva Merkacheva, a member of Russia’s Presidential Council for Human Rights, reports Interfax.

“As for women in prison, the examples you gave are convincing and I think it’s necessary to prepare and adopt an appropriate decision, including on amnesty for certain categories of women who are in prison,” Putin said at a council meeting.

During the meeting, Eva Merkacheva asked Putin to pardon “all women who have children who are minors, and are suspected of, or have already been convicted for, non-violent crimes,” as well as “generally all women who have committed non-violent crimes for the first time, in whose cases there are no victims or those whose victims are not against them being released.”

“I’m sure that this step of mercy on the part of the state will do a lot for the whole country — it will show that mercy is possible in any situation and that mercy is the ultimate justice,” Merkacheva said.

• The last time Russia announced an amnesty was in 2015, in connection with the 70th anniversary of Russia’s victory in World War Two. As independent outlet Mediazona reported, a total of 34,000 people were released under the amnesty.