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Czech president grants pardons to two female prisoners

Xinhua, November 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

Czech President Milos Zeman has granted pardons to two female prisoners, the president's spokesman Jiri Ovcacek said on Tuesday.

One of the women is granted pardon at the request of Pope Francis as she takes care her baby in prison.

Ovcacek said the young woman with a baby was punished for embezzlement and her case does not fulfil the conditions Zeman demands when granting mercy as she does not suffer from any grave illness.

The woman was granted the mercy on Nov. 20, when the Holy Year of Mercy closed. Ovcacek said Pope Francis recently turned to Zeman in a personal letter with the plea to show an act of mercy. It was entirely up to Zeman what form of mercy and grace he will choose.

The other woman has suffered from a long-term mental diseases, due to which her prison term was several times interrupted. She was convicted of fraud, embezzlement and crime associated with a tender.

She served almost half of her prison term. She is of an advanced age and due to her positive assessment, she was placed in a prison with moderate conditions, Ovcacek said.

Both women were convicted for the first time, and their pardons were submitted by Czech Justice Minister Robert Pelikan.

So far, Zeman has granted three pardons in his presidency, the most recent one is at the end of September.

Annually, Czech Justice Ministry receives about 600 requests for pardons. Endit