MOSCOW, October 16 - RAPSI. United Russia deputies have proposed amendments to Article 399 of the Criminal Procedure Code to allow victims to attend parole hearings, the State Duma reported on its website on Tuesday.

The bill was submitted by State Duma Committee for Constitutional Law and State-Building head Vladimir Pligin and committee member Dmitry Vyatkin.

Today, an aggrieved party can contest a parole decision, but in practice he is unable to file an appeal unless he has been notified of the parole hearing.

The bill's sponsors have cited the victim’s right to take part in the parole decision-making process in many countries worldwide, such as the United States. 

“Media have widely covered the parole applications filed by Mark David Chapman, who is serving a life sentence for killing John Lennon in 1980. As of 2000, he has been entitled to apply for parole once every two years. He always exercises this right, and he invariably receives a refusal each time. In rejecting his applications, the court has been guided by Yoko Ono’s opinion,” according to the bill.