Pussy Riot, Greenpeace activists granted amnesty as State Duma passes bill

[DeSwiss]

RT
Published time: December 18, 2013 12:21
Edited time: December 18, 2013 14:47


[font size=1]Pussy Riot punk band member Maria Alyokhina, serving two years for a 'punk prayer' at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, at the Avtozavodsky District Court in Nizhny Novgorod hearing her motion to mitigate penalty (RIA Novosti / Oleg Zoloto)[/font]

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.

State Duma deputies on Wednesday unanimously supported the amnesty legislation submitted by President Vladimir Putin earlier this month to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the country’s Constitution. The legislation could come into force as early as this week, after it is officially published.

Pussy Riot’s Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, who are both subject to the amnesty, may be released from prison by New Year’s Eve, their lawyer Irina Khrunova told journalists.

*snip*

Amnesty for Arctic 30

With the approval of the amnesty bill, the 30 members of the Greenpeace’s Arctic Sunrise crew who were detained in September after staging a protest at Gazprom’s Prirazlomnaya oil rig in the Barents Sea will also be finally able to go home. The activists are currently on bail and have been awaiting trial in Russia.


[font size=1]Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise (RIA Novosti / Sergey Eshenko)[/font]

Initially, the activists – who are nationals of 18 different countries – were detained on piracy charges, which meant they could face up to 15 years in jail. However, investigators later reduced the charges to hooliganism.

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[sinkingfeeling]

1. Excellent!

[Jesus Malverde]

2. interesting to see if Generalisimo Putin agrees...nt

[DeSwiss]

3. Of course he will.

- OLYMPICS.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

4. Awesome news n/t