Amnestied prisoners are in no hurry for freedom

Prisoners who were waiting for the announcement of an amnesty are in no hurry to leave prisons even after receiving such an opportunity.

Almost half a thousand convicts refused to exercise their right to early release. According to information from the State Department for the Execution of Sentences, the total number of prisoners who fell under the amnesty was two thousand eight hundred people. But most often, people simply have nowhere to go after release. Many plan to use the right to early release from prison later. After all, one can be amnestied only once in a lifetime. In each case, the final verdict — whether to allow or not to allow [them] to stay in prison — is made by the court.

Vasyl Koshchynets, head of the State Department for the Execution of Sentences: “They say it directly — I have nowhere to go. Well, the biggest motivation is when there is a small term left to serve. Two or three years. So he calculates that maybe the next time it will come in handy.”