Leader to Offer Amnesty to Nearly All Prisoners
TURKMENISTAN
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President Saparmurad A. Niyazov will largely empty Turkmenistan’s prison cells by Dec. 1, granting amnesty to almost all of the former Soviet republic’s 17,000 prisoners, an official said.
Only prisoners who have committed crimes against the state, been convicted of premeditated murder or are repeat offenders will remain behind bars, a Justice Ministry official said.
Although Niyazov has resisted moves toward democracy and economic reforms, he has favored grand gestures of mercy. Since 1992, Niyazov has announced 24 amnesties, freeing 112,000 people, the ministry said.
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