MOSCOW, June 2 (RAPSI) – Over 25,000 convicts have been already released in Russia in accordance with the presidential amnesty, which has been arranged to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, member of Russia’s Civic Chamber Maria Kannabikh announced Monday during the All-Russian video conference on the executive bodies’ cooperation with the civic institutions in the field of the convicts’ rights protection.

Most of the pardoned convicts were serving the suspended sentence. There were also convicts released from custody, she added. The State Duma in December unanimously adopted an amnesty bill submitted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The amnesty applies to individuals convicted of minor offenses and medium-gravity crimes. It most immediately impacts minors, women with minor children, pregnant women,n the elderly and certain disabled people. The amnesty period will end this month, Kannabikh said.