Thousands could be freed from jail under new criminal code

Thousands of people will be able to petition to be released from prison when a new criminal code comes into effect on January 1, Lidové noviny reported on Tuesday, describing the situation as an unofficial amnesty. Changes to the law redefining some crimes as mere misdemeanours will also mean that tens of thousands of prisoners could see their terms reduced, the newspaper said. The head of the country’s judges’ organisation, Tomáš Lichovník, said those who had been sent to jail for something which is no longer a crime would have to be freed. He said the courts expected to be extremely busy.