On October 16, the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of Tajikistan, submitted a draft Law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On amnesty” to the country’s Parliament for approval.
The draft of this Law provides for the exemption from criminal liability and punishment of persons in respect of whom criminal cases are pending by the bodies of inquiry, preliminary investigation or the courts or serving the sentence on the basis of a court sentence.
According to preliminary data, the Law “On amnesty” applies to more than twenty thousand suspects, accused, defendants and convicts. Including over three thousand people are exempted from serving a sentence, more than five thousand people from other punishments not related to imprisonment. In relation to the majority of convicts, the term of imprisonment is reduced. This law also applies to more than two thousand persons whose criminal cases are pending by the bodies of inquiry, preliminary investigation or the courts.
In accordance with Article 1 of the draft of this Law, the following convicted persons shall be released from serving the sentence of imprisonment, regardless of the term of the sentence imposed and from serving other punishments not related to deprivation of liberty:
– women;
– minors;
– men over 55 years old;
– persons with disabilities of I, II, and III groups, as well as people with malignant neoplasms (stage 4) and people with 4th clinical group according to the international classification of malignant neoplasms of the lymphatic and hematopoietic tissues, respiratory tuberculosis and destructive lungs affection, ischemic heart disease – stenocardia of III and IV functional classes;
– the Great Patriotic War veterans and persons equated with them, participants in hostilities in the territory of other states, as well as persons who were injured as a result of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant;
– persons awarded state awards and foreign citizens.
Along with this, according to the requirements of Article 2 of the draft, persons, who have committed crimes through negligence, are completely exempted from punishment, regardless of the type of punishment.
One of the distinguishing features of the proposed project from earlier adopted amnesty laws is that the number of people, who can be released from serving their sentences, has increased. In particular, women convicted of especially serious crimes have actually served more than twelve years of imprisonment, men over seventy years old (with the exception of those who have committed some especially serious crimes), persons convicted of receiving or giving a bribe of up to ten thousand somoni, foreign citizens who have committed the crimes under Paragraph 10 of Article 3, regardless of the restrictions under other articles of this Law, are completely exempt from punishment.
It also provides for the release from punishment of convicts for whom the execution of the sentence has been delayed or the sentence has not been conditionally applied, or for those on parole who are serving their sentences or serving sentences in penal colonies, settlements or are not associated with other punishments not related to deprivation of liberty.
It should be noted that the effect of this Law is primarily applied to those who first committed crimes of minor gravity and crimes of an average level, or who committed crimes through negligence. In particular, in accordance with Article 4 of the draft, persons, who were convicted for the first time of committing minor or medium crimes, are completely exempted from serving their sentences. At the same time, persons who have served two-thirds of the sentence for committing serious crimes or convicted of especially serious crimes, if they have served at least three-quarters of the sentence in places of deprivation of liberty, are exempted from further punishment.
In accordance with Article 5, convicts for committing grave and especially grave crimes for a term of more than 15 years, who have served more than fifteen years before the entry into force of this Law and the remaining sentence of less than three years, are exempted from serving their sentences, regardless of the restrictions and prohibitions prescribed by this Law.
In order to protect the rights of victims, this Law applies to persons who have committed crimes under paragraphs 3 and 4 of Articles 245, 246, 247, 253 and 257 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan, provided that they have fully payed the material damage to the victims.
In accordance with Article 6, the persons indicated in Article 1 of the draft, as well as persons who have committed crimes through negligence and for the first time committed crimes of small and medium gravity, are exempted from criminal liability.
In article 7, the reduction of the unserved term of punishment of persons sentenced to deprivation of liberty in respect of which the actions of articles 1, 2, article 3 (paragraphs 6, 7, 10) and articles 4 and 6 of this Law do not apply, is provided as follows:
– in relation to convicts who have been sentenced to imprisonment for committing reckless crimes – for 1/2 part;
– in relation to convicts who have been sentenced to deprivation of liberty for committing crimes of small and medium gravity – for 1/2 part;
– in relation to convicts who have been sentenced to imprisonment for committing a serious crime – by 1/3 of the term;
– in relation to convicts who have been sentenced to imprisonment for committing a particularly serious crime – for 1/4 of the term.
The draft also indicates a number of situations that restrict the application of legislation to certain individuals.
In particular, article 8 defines the group of people in respect of whom the Law “On amnesty” does not apply. This group (with the exception of women and minors) includes persons who have committed the most dangerous crimes, sentenced to imprisonment in accordance with article 104, part 3 of article 110, articles 130, 130 1, 138, 139, 143 1, 179, 179 1 , 179 2, 179 3, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, part 4 of article 200, paragraph “в” of paragraph 2 and paragraph 3 of article 237, part 4 of article 248, parts 3 and 4 of article 249, parts 3 and 4 of article 250, articles 305-310, 313, 328, 331, 332, articles 365, 395-405 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan.
In this case, the Law does not apply to persons sentenced to life imprisonment, as well as to persons sentenced to death penalty that have been commuted to imprisonment, and to persons who have committed a crime at the place of serving the sentence.
In accordance with article 9 in relation to people for committing crimes under article 104, part 2 of article 109, part 3 of article 110, article 122, parts 2 and 3 of article 125, article 130, 130 1, part 3 of article 131, articles 137, 138, part 2 of article 141, part 2 of article 142, part 2 of article 1421, article 143 1, parts 2 and 3 of article 167, part 2 179, 179 1, 179 2, 179 3, 181, parts 3 and 4 of article 184, parts 4 and 5 of article 184 1, parts 3 and 4 of article 184 2, parts 3 and 4 of article 184 3, articles 184 4, 185-189, 193, 195, 196, 199, part 4 of article 200, part 4 of article 201, part 3 of article 202, part 3 of article 202 1, part 3 of article 202 2, part 3 of article 203, part 4 of article 204, part 2 of article 205, parts 3, 4 and 5 of article 212, part 3 of article 237, part 4 of article 244, parts 3 and 4 of article 248, articles 249, 250, part 3 of article 252, parts 2, 3 and 4 of article 289, article 307 2, part 1 of article 307 2, part 307 3, articles 307 4, 308, 309, 310, 313, part 3 of article 314, part 4 of article 319 (if the amount of the bribe exceeds ten thousand somoni), part 2 of article 320 (if the amount of the bribe exceeds ten thousand somoni), articles 328, 329, 330, 331, 332, part 3 of article 335, part 2 of article 3351, part 2 of article 3381, article 340, article 347 (if the failure to report the crime or harboring it is connected with crimes of a terrorist and extremist nature, or crimes against the foundations of the constitutional order and security of the state), parts 2 and 3 of article 356, article 365, part 2 of article 368, parts 2 and 3 of article 369, parts 2 and 3 of article 370, articles 374, 375, articles 382-385, part 4 of article 386, part 4 of article 391, parts 1 and 2 of article 393, articles 396, 397, parts 1 and 2 of article 401, parts 1 and 2 of article 402, articles 403 and 404 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan, the validity of articles 1, 2, 4 and 6 of this Law shall not apply. Article 7 applies to these persons, and the time for serving their sentences is reduced.
This law pays particular attention to the issue of women and minors. Only for women and minors who have committed the crimes under articles 104, paragraph 3 of article 138, parts 3 and 4 of article 139, articles 179, 1791, 179 2, 179 3, 307, 307 1, 307 2, part 1 of article 307 3, articles 307 4, 308, 309, 310, 395-405 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan, or they were convicted of committing the crimes under part 4 of article 245, part 4 of article 246 and part 4 of article 247 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan, and not fully payed a material damage, if the amount of damage does not exceed one hundred thousand somoni, the articles 1 and 6 of this Law does not apply.
This Law shall apply to persons who committed crimes before its entry into force or were prosecuted by the bodies of inquiry and preliminary investigation, or criminal cases pending in the courts or not yet considered by the court, as well as against persons convicted by foreign courts and extradited to the Republic of Tajikistan for further serving their sentences.
Article 12 contains the list of bodies and institutions responsible for the implementation of this law and the procedure for its implementation. This law is applied by the bodies or institutions in respect of which the case or material is located or considered, or the convicted person is serving a sentence in these institutions. When considering materials or cases regarding the application of amnesty in the courts, the participation of the prosecutor is mandatory. The bodies of inquiry and preliminary investigation, the commanders of military units and institutions for the execution of criminal sentences of the Main Directorate for the Execution of Criminal Sentences of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Tajikistan apply this law with the consent of the prosecutor.
The decision on the application of this Law in relation to wanted persons is adopted without calling and consent of these persons. This circumstance does not deprive such persons of the right to appeal the decision in the future.
At the same time, it should be noted that the implementation of this law does not extinguish the criminal record and persons amnestied in accordance with this Law are not exempted from additional punishments and restoration of material damage compensation caused as a result of the commission of a crime.
In accordance with article 20 of the draft, the relevant authorities are obliged to ensure the implementation of this Law within two months and further inform the President of the Republic of Tajikistan concerning its implementation.
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