Almost two thousand people in the Vitebsk region have fallen under the amnesty

For six months, authorized bodies actively worked to ensure the implementation of the Law of the Republic of Belarus of May 28, 2015 No. 259-Z "On Amnesty in connection with the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945", which provides for exemption from criminal liability, assigned punishment (both in full and in part), as well as carrying out measures aimed at assisting persons released from places of deprivation of liberty and their social adaptation.

During the six-month period established for its implementation, the Law was executed with the participation of the prosecutor's office by bodies and institutions entrusted with its execution, in cooperation with local executive and administrative bodies, labor, employment and social protection departments, and other organizations.

The decision on the application or non-application of amnesty was made for each person individually, based on the results of studying the materials and clarifying relevant circumstances, based on the criteria established by the Law for identifying persons subject to amnesty, the conditions for its application, and circumstances preventing amnesty.  

According to the Law, fullexemption from punishment and other criminal liability measures under certain conditions could be counted on by minors, pregnant women, women and single men, having children under the age of eighteen, men over sixty years of age and women over fifty-five years of age, disabled persons of group I or II, citizens affected by the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, and other radiation accidents.

Factors hindering the application of amnesty included the commission of certain crimes, including repeated offenses after the amnesty had been applied earlier, violations of the established procedure for serving sentences, non-reimbursement of harm (damage) caused by the crime, alimony arrears, expenses for the maintenance of children under state care, and non-payment of income obtained by criminal means.

Within the framework of the Law's implementation in the Vitebsk region, during preliminary investigations of criminal cases, when issuing court decisions, as well as by bodies and institutions responsible for the execution of punishments and other criminal liability measures, amnesty was applied to almost 2,000 people. In compliance with the conditions for applying amnesty established by the Law, they reimbursed the harm (damage) caused by the crime, and paid the income obtained by criminal means, totaling about 5 billion rubles.

264 pardoned individuals were released from the penal system institutions and arrived for further residence in the region, and have been registered withregistration with territorial bodies of internal affairs. They were provided with assistance in resolving issues of registration, document restoration, and settlement and employment. Work in this area continues.

The regional prosecutor's office has taken the necessary measures to ensure supervision over compliance with the law in the implementation of the provisions of the Law.

Head of Department
of the Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office
for supervision over legality
of execution of criminal punishments
Justice Counselor V.I. Pashkovsky