MOSCOW, May 25 (RAPSI) – The number of prisoners decreased by 4,700 people in Russia in the first quarter of 2021, the Supreme Court’s Chairman Vyacheslav Lebedev announced Tuesday.

The drop is related to the implemenration of meausures aimed to humanize criminal legislation and regulatory enforcement, he stated.

Moreover, 160,000 criminal cases against 165,000 persons were considered in the first four months of the year. 

The caseload during this period exceeded the scope of courts’ work for the same period last year, Lebedev added.