Members of the band Pussy Riot, the Arctic 30 Greenpeace activists and protesters imprisoned after the 2012 Bolotnaya demonstration are to be freed in an amnesty marking the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution, according to the Russian newspaper Izvestia.
The newspaper cites the draft bill regarding the amnesty which was submitted by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the State Duma. Approximately 25,000 people will be freed under the amnesty instigated by Putin, according to Interfax who cited Vladimir Vasilyev, the deputy speaker of the Russian parliament.
He added that the amnesty will not apply to those who have been perceived as a serious danger to society.
The amnesty will be adopted within the next month and implemented within the next six months, an influential parliamentary source told Isvestiva.
Russia will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Russian constitution on December 12.
