MOSCOW. March 7 (Interfax) - The Russian government has submitted to the State Duma a draft federal law on penitentiary reform.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed the resolution on March 4. The document published on the Russian government website on Thursday proposed amendments to Article 74 of the Russian Code of Criminal Procedure.
The amendment creates legal and organizational conditions for the transition to two main types of correctional institutions - minimum, medium and high security prisons and minimum and medium security penal settlements, says the explanatory note to the resolution.
There will be isolated wards with various regimes at penitentiaries and prisons, the bill says.
"The correctional system has only seven prisons now: convicts transferred from other regions have problems in meeting with their families and other visitors and transfer expenditures are large. The establishment of isolated wards with the prison regime at penitentiaries will help avoid such problems," the note said.
Due to the steady decline in the convict population, detention facilities of penitentiaries may be transformed into isolated wards with the prison regime.