Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree pardoning 52 convicted women a move that coincides with International Women’s Day celebrated annually on March 8.
United Nations has designated the year 2024’s theme as ‘Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress’ with a focus on addressing economic disempowerment, while the campaign theme for this year is ‘Inspire Inclusion.’
The list of those pardoned included pregnant women and women with minor children, as well as those whose relatives are participating in the military operation in Ukraine.
“When deciding on a pardon, the head of state was guided by the principles of humanity. First of all, women with minor children, pregnant women, as well as women whose relatives are participating in a special military operation were pardoned,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
According to the Federal Penitentiary Service, as of January 31, 2023, there were 433,006 people in the penal system.
There are no current statistics in open sources; data on the gender composition of prisoners and their crimes are not published on the service’s website after 2021.
In 2021, the president signed decrees pardoning six convicts.
In December 2023, a member of the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, Eva Merkacheva, asked Vladimir Putin to pardon women who have minor children and who are convicted of non-violent crimes.
The head of state supported the initiative and proposed to “prepare and adopt” decisions “on amnesty for certain categories of women.”
According to Ms. Merkacheva, approximately 45 thousand women have now been sentenced to imprisonment.
In her opinion, the amnesty could affect approximately 25 thousand prisoners.
