852 convicts pardoned for the 35th anniversary of independence — a record in recent years

On 27 August 2026, on the eve of the 35th anniversary of independence, the President signed a decree pardoning 852 persons serving sentences who sincerely repented and firmly took the path of reform.

Of them, 604 people were fully released from punishment, 115 were released on parole, 52 convicts had their punishment commuted to a milder one, and another 81 had their prison terms reduced.

Among the pardoned are 375 young people, 49 women, 37 men over 60, 7 foreign citizens and 63 persons who previously belonged to banned organisations. This is noticeably more than a year earlier: the pardon for the 34th anniversary covered 523 people.

The relevant agencies have been instructed to assist the released with employment, family reunification and social reintegration.

What this means in practice: the institution of pardon keeps expanding. If your relative is serving a sentence, has admitted guilt and has a positive record, it makes sense to prepare a pardon petition for the next commission — a lawyer can help with this.

Photo: Bill Bradford, Flickr (CC BY 2.0)