MOSCOW, April 23 - RAPSI. The system of releasing suspects on bail has yet to become a viable practice, Vedomosti newspaper reports on Monday.

The most recent statistics from the Supreme Court show that courts released 30 percent fewer suspects on bail (438) in 2011 than a year before (629). This is not simply a result of the decrease in the total number of cases heard: 135,850 were sentenced to prison terms in 2011, only 10 percent fewer than in 2010.

As a rule, courts satisfied 9 out of 10 requests for arrest warrants. However, a similar case is true for bail petitions: 438 out of 491 petitions were granted. According to the judicial data, 41 suspects escaped while on bail, bringing almost 26 million rubles ($880,000) to the State. The average amount for bail has remained 600,000 rubles ($20,000).

An Interior Ministry investigator said that in most cases (involving widespread offences such as theft or drugs possession) bail is not an option due to the suspect's financial status: even where minor crimes are concerned, bail still amounts to a minimum of 100,000 rubles ($3,400). And in cases involving violence, investigators refuse to support bail applications. As a result, only a few wealthy suspects can take the option of bail.