Rights defenders treat Caucasian inmates' chances for pardoning as high

The call to pardon prisoners due to coronavirus threat will be heard by Russian authorities; and North-Caucasian activists will fall under amnesty, the rights defenders who have supported the petition for inmates' release believe.

The petition of the Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG) "Call for the widest possible amnesty due to coronavirus" has been placed on the Change.org platform.

Authorities will react to the rights defenders' call "because of the almost inevitable COVID-19 epidemic in jails and isolation facilities," said Svetlana Gannushkina, the head of the "Civil Assistance" Committee.

However, in her opinion, the amnesty will not cover the prisoners sentenced for involvement in terrorism.

As noted by Dmitry Makarov, a co-chairman of the MHG, the problem with overcrowded SIZOs (pre-trial prisons) and jails is pressing in all the regions.

Sergey Davidis, the head of support programmes for political prisoners at the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", believes that Ingush activists may fall under the amnesty.

In Georgia, prisoners are not yet amnestied because of coronavirus, but it is possible that if the situation worsens, authorities can make such a decision, said Zaal Andjaparidze, the programme coordinator at the International Centre for Conflicts and Negotiations.

Tbilisi has closed the "Matrosovskaya" Prison, which contained convicted high-ranking officials and former law enforcers. The prison will cease to exist on May 1, said Teya Tsulukiani, the Justice Minister.