MOSCOW. Aug 9 (Interfax) - Russian courts have released 167 out of 100,000 inmates qualifying under the law that counts one day in pretrial custody as 1.5 days of imprisonment, according to the press service of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN).
"As of August 3, materials regarding 30,500 convicts were submitted to courts in order for sentences to be reconciled with the new law, and 253 materials were processed," the press service said in a statement seen by Interfax on Wednesday.
As a result, 167 inmates were released, and 86 had their term of imprisonment reduced, it said.
"According to territorial divisions of FSIN, the new edition of Article 72 of the Russian Criminal Code can apply to 100,000 incarcerated convicts," the press service said.
On July 4, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law amending Article 72 of the Russian Criminal Code, which pertains to the calculation of periods spent in pretrial custody and correctional institutions.
Under the law, one day of pretrial custody is equal to one day in prison and high- and maximum-security penitentiaries, 1.5 days in general penitentiaries and correctional facilities, and two days in penal colonies.
The time spent in custody before the sentence takes effect are also counted toward the total period of imprisonment: one day for 1.5 days in disciplinary military units, one day for two days of deprivation of freedom, compulsory labor, and arrest, one day for three days of correctional labor and military service restrictions, and one day for eight hours of community service.
The law does not apply to persons convicted of grave felonies, such as drug trafficking, violating the country's constitutional system, and terrorism, as well as persons who have committed repeat dangerous crimes, and convicts whose death sentences have been replaced with 25 years or life. One day spent by such persons in a detention center counts as one day of imprisonment.
Two days of house arrest are equal to one day in a detention center or a correctional institution.