President Ivan Gašparovič on the president's official web site has announced the scope of the amnesty that he granted on Tuesday, January 1.
"Some 500 people could be released from confinement according to preliminary data," reported president's spokesperson Marek Trubač, as quoted by the TASR newswire. Pardons will be granted to those whose sentences have been suspended and people who have been sentenced to a maximum of 18 months in the lowest-security prisons.
The president further decided to pardon citizens of EU-member states who were expelled from Slovakia before August 1, 2004, as well as people who committed crimes during mandatory military service or mandatory alternative military service. Young people sentenced to less than 18 months in prison should also be released. According to Gašparovič's decision, the amnesty doesn't apply to those sentenced for the following crimes: those resulting in death, grievous bodily harm or large-scale damage; those that involved neglect of children or threatened an ethical upbringing for young people; drug-trafficking; serving alcoholic beverages to adolescents; and crimes committed under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
In addition, amnesties might also be granted under exactly specified conditions to certain groups of people who don't comply with the above criteria, including people suffering from serious life-threatening and untreatable diseases, people older than 65, pregnant women, and parents who are taking care of young children by themselves. Those granted amnesties will be treated as if they had never been convicted of the crime.
(Source: TASR)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
