You're reading: Tymoshenko cannot be amnestied under government-proposed amnesty bill

The Ukrainian government has submitted an amnesty bill to parliament which, if passed, will give freedom to about 1,500 inmates in 2012.

The bill, posted on the parliament’s website on Wednesday, Oct. 3, would
apply to citizens who have committed minor crimes or belong to socially
vulnerable groups.

Amnesty would apply, for instance, to minors, women and men who have
children under 18 or disabled children, and inmates with disabilities or
suffering from tuberculosis or cancer diseases.

But it will not apply to persons convicted on counts of abuse of office or authority.

Ukraine’s ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was jailed on counts of
abuse of authority while negotiating gas contracts with Russia in 2009.

The government-proposed bill also says that amnesty cannot be applied to suspects or convicts who reject it.