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Lukas Hurt
Czech President Petr Pavel just granted the first four pardons to cannabis prisoners
Two years of working overtime within our citizen initiative Rodiny proti prohibici (Families Against Prohibition), NGO Rational Regulation, CzecHemp cluster, magazines Konopí & Legalizace and other organizations are finally bearing their first fruits!
A petition for clemency in these four cases has been filed by activist and addictologist Dusan Dvorak who is currently busy with the relay hunger strike which continues until 4/20. Why? Because hundreds more cannabis prisoners are still rotting needlessly and senselessly in overcrowded Czech prisons! But this is an amazing first step towards righting these wrongs.
President Petr Pavel has granted five pardons, marking the second time in his two years in office that he has used this constitutional power. One pardon was given to a man whose driving caused a collision with a train during reduced visibility, resulting in the deaths of two passengers. The other pardons were granted to three men convicted of crimes related to marijuana cultivation and one man convicted of aiding in its distribution.
Mr. Pavel’s predecessor, Miloš Zeman, had transferred the power to conduct clemency reviews to the Ministry of Justice, with the Office of the President only processing those that met conditions set by the former president. However, since last year, the presidential office has taken full control of the pardon process. Over 1,300 requests have been submitted to the office since then.
