The government has proposed allowing prisoners to be sent to colonies near their families

The government has proposed allowing prisoners to apply to be sent to a colony near where their close relatives live. This is stated on the government website.

Such a written application can also be submitted by a close family member, but in this case the consent of the prisoner is also required.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev noted that convicts often serve their sentences very far from their relatives: “Huge distances exclude the possibility of their communication with their family. But for such convicts, communication and connection with family is, of course, a way of socialization, an opportunity to return to normal life.”

Medvedev added that all prisoners will be able to apply, except for those who received a life sentence for especially serious crimes and for crimes related to terrorism. Amendments are planned to be made to the Criminal Executive Code.