Cabinet of Ministers' bill on amnesty 2012 not apply to Tymoshenko

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has introduced at the Verkhovna Rada a bill "On Amnesty 2012", which would foresee amnesties for 1,500 people if adopted.

The bill, which was posted on the parliament's website on Wednesday, foresees granting an amnesty to convicts who did not commit serious crimes, or criminals that are the most socially vulnerable. In particular, this includes juveniles, women and men that have children less than 18 years old, disabled children, people with disabilities of the first, second and third groups, or people ill with tuberculosis or cancer.

However, according to the bill, people convicted under Article 364 and Article 365 of the Criminal Code (abuse of power or office) do not qualify for an amnesty.

As reported, former premier of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko was convicted under Article 365 of the Criminal Code for abuse of power signing gas contracts with Russia in 2009.

Moreover, the governmental bill envisages that an amnesty cannot be granted to prisoners who object to it.

According to the bill, granting an amnesty to people convicted by the courts of the foreign states, and who are serve sentence on the territory of Ukraine, will be decided by the corresponding courts of the country, in line with Ukraine's international agreements.