Skopje (North Macedonia), Mar 21 (AP) North Macedonia's parliament has adopted a legislative amendment to pardon people facing imprisonment for violating COVID-19 safety rules.

Lawmakers late Monday voted 76-1 in favour of the amnesty which will affect more than 200 people currently facing trial as well as more than 90 people reportedly serving prison sentences.

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North Macedonia had one of the highest fatality rates in the world from the coronavirus, in part due to late access to vaccines. It imposed strict penalties for safety violations, on charges of facilitating the transmission of an infectious disease and failure to comply with health regulations during a pandemic.

According to the court data, 1,223 people were fined up to 2,000 euros (USD 2,140) for violating pandemic protocols, and 205 of them were facing jail time for failing to pay the fine.

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The amnesty, which applies to citizens and not legal entities, will allow those already serving prison sentences to apply for immediate release.

The amnesty was proposed following recommendations from prison and prosecution authorities to reduce crowding in prisons. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)