Putin Backs Amnesty Proposal That Could Free Pussy Riot Members From Russian Labor Camps

[Purveyor]

By Agence France-Presse
Wednesday, December 4, 2013 12:51 EST

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said he backed proposals for an amnesty for thousands of prisoners who, according to his rights advisor, could include ex-tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the Pussy Riot punks.

“I agree… that such actions must be pacifying, must emphasise the humanity of our state,” Putin said in televised comments.

The amnesty could free up to 100,000 prisoners, said Mikhail Fedotov, the head of the presidential rights council, an independent advisory body, cited by RIA Novosti news agency.

Fedotov told journalists the amnesty could apply to former oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the two jailed members of punk band Pussy Riot, who held a protest against Putin in a Moscow cathedral.

“I think that yes of course,” Fedotov said, when asked if it could apply to Pussy Riot. “After all that was not a violent crime.”

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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/04/putin-backs-amnesty-proposal-that-could-free-pussy-riot-members-from-russian-labor-camps/

[happyfunball]

1. Well the point has been made

I think people got the message about what happens when you say the wrong things.

Now Putin can look magnanimous.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Putin has backed it

but its up to the Duma.