TBILISI. March 11 (Interfax) - Based on an amnesty law passed by the Georgian parliament, 8,503 convicts have been freed from correctional facilities across the country as of March 9, the Corrections Ministry reported.
In February 2013 alone, 7,699 convicts, among them 7,431 men (including 40 minors) and 238 women, were released from penitentiaries.
The parliament passed the amnesty bill on December 21, 2012. President Mikheil Saakashvili on December 27 vetoed the section of the amnesty bill concerning political prisoners and individuals who committed crimes against minors, but the parliament overruled the presidential veto on December 28, after which the parliamentary speaker signed the bill into law, and it took effect on January 13.