Amnesty is the termination of criminal prosecution of a citizen on the basis of a decision of the President, that is, it is a kind of pardon for certain categories of citizens, tied to some significant historical date.
Amnesty is announced by the President of the country on the basis of a draft law developed by the State Duma. The deputies are considering a law on the approval of the categories of citizens and crimes to which the amnesty will apply. Pardon covers, as a rule, a significant number of prisoners, however, there are categories that cannot leave the walls of the correctional institution ahead of schedule, no matter what amnesty is held in the country.
Against power
First of all, the amnesty does not apply to crimes that were committed against the government and the current regime. Sometimes, however, amnesty applies to these categories of crimes, but this is only due to the fact that, accordingly, the political system is changing, and the actions of the previous government are recognized as illegitimate or illegal. This happens very rarely, and there has never been such a pardon in the modern history of Russia.
The group of crimes that are not amnestied include:
- espionage in favor of a foreign state;
- state names;
- encroachments on the life of statesmen;
- carrying out various kinds of sabotage;
- calls for extremism or seizure of power;
- organization and activities of various terrorist groups and bandit formations.
Against personality
Also, crimes committed against the identity of citizens do not fall under the amnesty. These categories of crimes include:
- various kinds of premeditated murders (in Russia the term "qualified" is used, "premeditated" is the term of Western jurisprudence);
- deliberate infliction of grievous bodily harm, after which the person died or received a serious injury.
Crimes of robbery, robbery or rape are sometimes subject to amnesty, which usually causes discontent among citizens.
Against the world
The amnesty does not include crimes that were committed against the world and violating the security of mankind. These categories of crimes include:
- genocide;
- preparation of war or other aggressive actions against other countries and peace on earth;
- the use and conduct of methods of warfare prohibited and contrary to international conventions;
- mercenarism;
- development of weapons of mass destruction and their use against civilians.
By and large, crimes are not amnestied if they belong to the category of grave and especially grave. This group includes crimes, the punishment for which is 10 years in prison or more.
