Amnesties for those charged with economic crimes in Russia may be considered, but the issue should be decided upon by parliament, President Dmitry Medvedev said at a meeting with members of his Open Government initiative in Moscow on Tuesday.
“Amnesty is quite a possible thing, although it is unpopular for obvious reasons – because it reminds everyone of the Cold Summer of 1953,” Medvedev said, referring to a Decree on Amnesty issued by the Supreme Soviet in March 1953, when tens of thousands of criminals were released from jail, causing a sharp increase in crime across the country.
“But this could be considered, and we have to address our appeals to the State Duma, because it is the parliament that declares amnesty, not the president,” Medvedev said. “The president only has the right to grant a pardon.”
Medvedev’s comments are likely to give hope to supporters of former Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev, who have been in jail on charges of fraud and tax evasion since 2003.
The two had been due for release in 2011, but were found guilty on a second set of charges and their sentences extended until 2018. Khodorkovsky supporters say both sets of charges were Kremlin revenge for his financing of opposition parties. The Russian authorities deny the case was politically motivated.
