MOSCOW, September 27 (RAPSI) – The State Duma has approved in the second reading a bill on visits for criminals serving their term in stringent conditions in high security penal colonies and prisons.

The bill reads that these inmates are to receive a right to have one long-term visit a year. Other categories of inmates serving their term in stringent conditions will receive increased number of both short-term and long-term visits.

Earlier, Russian government submitted a bill that would allow life-term prisoners to have one prolonged visit a year from relatives. The bill was drafted by the Justice Ministry in compliance with the Constitutional Court’s order.

In November 2016, the Constitutional Court of Russia published a regulation that allows prison inmates sentenced to life to receive at least one long visit from close relatives in the first 10 years of prison term.

The Court was reviewing Russian legislation regarding prison visits under the request of the Volgograd Regional Court regarding cases of convicts Anton Matsynin and Nikolay Korolev. Their wives tried to organize prolonged conjugal visits in the first 10 years of imprisonment but were denied.

Currently, prolonged visits for such inmates are only allowed when they are moved to less strict conditions, but those who serve life terms may be transferred to such conditions only after 10 years of prison time for good behavior.