Bolivia president pardons 1,800 prisoners
Bolivian President Evo Morales pardoned around 1,800 prisoners on Saturday, including pregnant women, handicapped people, inmates with minor sentences and those in custody awaiting trial. "The present decree's aim is to give amnesty and total or partial pardons to people who have been deprived of their liberty," he told a news conference. It is the fourth time Morales has approved pardons. Official figures show there are more than 15,000 prisoners in Bolivia, of whom less than a third have been sentenced. Most are kept in overcrowded jails and penitentiaries. Morales said that those pardoned included inmates with sentences of less than five years, one-time offenders, prisoners under the age of 28, single mothers with incarcerated children, prisoners with terminal illnesses as well as people with handicaps.
