Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has indicated that members of the performance-art group Pussy Riot and former tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky will not be freed in an upcoming amnesty.
A bill on Russia's biggest amnesty in two decades is expected to be sent to parliament in the coming days.
But legislators and President Vladimir Putin have yet to determine who will be covered.
Rights organizations describe Pussy Riot, Khodorkovsky, and dozens charged with rioting during last year's opposition protest on Bolotnaya Square as political prisoners.
Medvedev said in a television interview on December 6 that public opinion is not in favor of releasing those "who committed violent crimes...crimes against society, including hooliganism," as well as "state crimes [and] major embezzlement."
Separately, senior prosecutor Aleksandr Zvyagintsev said on December 6 that Khodorkovsky may face a new, third trial.
A bill on Russia's biggest amnesty in two decades is expected to be sent to parliament in the coming days.
But legislators and President Vladimir Putin have yet to determine who will be covered.
Rights organizations describe Pussy Riot, Khodorkovsky, and dozens charged with rioting during last year's opposition protest on Bolotnaya Square as political prisoners.
Medvedev said in a television interview on December 6 that public opinion is not in favor of releasing those "who committed violent crimes...crimes against society, including hooliganism," as well as "state crimes [and] major embezzlement."
Separately, senior prosecutor Aleksandr Zvyagintsev said on December 6 that Khodorkovsky may face a new, third trial.
