The Russian Parliament passed an amnesty bill on Wednesday that could release numerous activists and others imprisoned on the charge of hooliganism, the Associated Press reported.
The State Duma voted 446-0 in favor of the amnesty bill which will apply to those who have not committed a violent crime, first-time offenders, minors and women with small children, the AP reported. About 2,000 prisoners could be released from jail, including the Greenpeace activists and two members of the Pussy Riot punk band.
Though the bill could apply to the 30 Greenpeace activist who were detained after an arctic protest involving a Russian ship, it is not immediately clear if the bill will allow activists released on bail to leave the country right away, according to the AP.
The bill is being viewed as an attempt to calm the tension that Russia has been facing before the Sochi Olympic Games in February, the AP reported.
In last minute amendments to the bill, the Duma added that suspects of hooliganism who are awaiting trial will be included, meaning the crew of the Greenpeace ship, Arctic Sunrise, who are still imprisoned and awaiting trial could also be released, according to the AP.
According to a top investigative agency in Russia, the investigation is still underway and some of the crew members could still face charges of assaulting a law enforcement official, the AP reported. The activist were initially arrested on charges of piracy but the charge was later changed to hooliganism.
"The Arctic 30 now hope they can spend Christmas at home but it is too early to say," Greenpeace spokesman Aaron Gray-Block told the AP.
In a statement about the newly passed amnesty bill, Arctic Sunrise captain Peter Willcox expressed mixed emotions.
"I might soon be going home to my family, but I should never have been charged and jailed in the first place," Willcox said in a statement, the AP reported.
The amnesty bill would also free Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina, who both have small children, and are the two Pussy Riot punk band members who were arrested on charges of hooliganism after they performed an anti-Kremlin protest at Moscow's main cathedral, the AP reported.
The bill will go into effect on Thursday after it is published in Russia's government newspaper and it will authorities a six month waiting period to carry out the new law, the AP reported. The wait time could mean prisoners may not be free, if eligible, for weeks or even months.
In order to be released, prisoners will have to apply to prison administration for amnesty and officials would then judge whether they are eligible. Those who have committed any offenses while jailed could be denied amnesty, according to the AP.
