Pussy Riot To Be Pardoned By The End Of The Year?

The long and arduous ordeal of the imprisoned punk protestors Pussy Riot could be over sooner than their scheduled release date of March 2014, if a new Kremlin amnesty presented by Russian president Vladmir Putin is anything to go by.

RT reports that a copy of the amnesty has leaked to Russian media outlets, who are reporting that the amnesty will result in the freedom of around 25,000 people.

“Around 1,300 people will be released from prison, and 17,500 people will be relieved of non-custodial sentences,” Vladimir Vasilyev, deputy speaker of parliament is being quoted as saying. “In addition, criminal proceedings against nearly 6,000 can be terminated.”

While the two imprisoned Pussy Riot members, Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, aren't named specifically, the draft amnesty says that those convicted of hooliganism – the charge the women were convicted of – will be freed or relieved of punishment.

It is believed the amnesty will also free the 30 Greenpeace activists who are currently on bail and awaiting trial after an attempt to board Russia's Prirazlomnaya oil platform in September of this year.

Russian paper Izvestia reports that the amnesty will be adopted before the end of the year, quoting a “high ranked source” in parliament.