MOSCOW, July 21 (RAPSI) – A bill mitigating punishment for pregnant women and women with children under the age of three years convicted of  non-serious crimes passed second and third readings in the State Duma, according to a statement of the lower house.

Amendments are proposed to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The draft law stipulates a possibility of release on parole for convicted pregnant women and mothers of kids under the age of three years living in the penitentiary facilities’ orphanages.

Moreover, the initiative proposes to replace an unserved part of sentence with a lesser one after a female convict had served upwards of one-quarter of a term imposed on her for a minor crime instead of current one third.

Earlier, in late 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill to improve custodial conditions for pregnant women and mothers with kids aged up to 3 years into law.