The 30-strong crew of a Greenpeace ship detained in Russia after an arctic protest could be home as early as next week after Moscow approved an amnesty law to pardon them.
The amnesty, which was proposed by President Vladimir Putin and passed unanimously by the State Duma on Wednesday, will free all those convicted of or being prosecuted for “hooliganism”, including the so-called “Arctic 30.”
The amnesty will also apply to the two members of the feminist punk group Pussy Riot who were sentenced to two years in prison colonies after a 2012 protest in a Moscow cathedral.
The legislation came into force after being published on the government’s legal information website tonight. The Investigative Committee will have three days to order the case against each of the Arctic 30 closed, Greenpeace lawyer Sergei Golubok told The Independent. He predicted his clients will be released on Monday, although he also warned that the variety of bureaucratic procedures involved could be drawn out.
mor: theIndependent
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