Head of the Presidential Human Rights Council, Mikhail Fedotov, the head told Interfax on Monday that he hopes President Dmitry Medvedev will pardon more people in addition to Sergei Mokhnatkin before the end of his term.

In reference to Mokhnaktin’s pardon on Monday, Fedotov said, “I welcome this manifestation of humanity and mercy by the president. I hope this decree will be followed by other presidential decrees pardoning more people.” He added:

“It’s hard for me to say who is next. There are some 30 people on the list that the council gave to the president. The majority are people whose sentences raise questions from the point of view of legitimacy and substantiation. Individual pardons are manifestations of humanism and mercy by the president. However, they do not abolish the act of amnesty of people convicted for economic crimes, for which our council has been calling for a long time. In this case, it’s up to the State Duma to decide.”

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