181 convicts pardoned in Russia over 6 months

Over the past six months, Russian pardon commissions pardoned 181 convicts, the Russian president's pardon adviser Anatoly Pristavkin told the press on Thursday.

Of the seven Russian districts, the Central District pardoned 36 people, the Northwestern 41 people, the Volga 49 people, the Siberian 14 people, the Southern 16 people, the Urals 16 people, and the Far Eastern 9 people. Of the total number of pardoned criminals, 42 had been sentenced to prison for robbery, 20 for crimes involving drugs, 29 for burglary, and 69 for murder. 30 members of the Russian Federation have not yet exercised the pardon privilege.

55 of the pardoned convicts were women, 46 of whom had children in colonies.

On each occasion, the commissions only reduced the sentence and granted the convict the right to apply for early release, Pristavkin explained.