Justice - 31 Hamburg prisoners are released early for Christmas
31 prisoners have been released early from prison in Hamburg this year. According to the justice authorities, they were serving rather short sentences that would have been served between December 1 and January 6 anyway. The early release is intended to give those affected the opportunity to settle personal and official matters before Christmas.
The traditional Christmas amnesty was newly regulated in the Hamburg Prison Act in 2018. Instead of the authorities granting clemency upon individual application, the prison authorities now check on their own initiative who is eligible for a maximum of five weeks' early release.
The condition for this is that the person concerned is serving a custodial sentence or a substitute custodial sentence of less than one year. They must also have been in prison for at least three months and must not be guilty of any offense. Prisoners who are likely to be expelled, deported or extradited are also exempt from early release.
Those who have to spend Christmas behind bars can at least look forward to a special menu. It usually includes a poultry dish as well as game and vegetarian dishes. Christmas parties were held in almost all prisons during the Advent period, except in the open prison at Glasmoor Prison. Most of the inmates at the facility in Norderstedt, which has 250 places, saved their days off so that they could be with their relatives at the end of the year.
According to the justice authorities, there is currently an average of around 2,100 people in Hamburg prisons, around a third of whom are on remand. A good half of all prisoners are foreigners.
Hamburg prisons
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The early release of prisoners before Christmas in Hamburg is a tradition that falls under the jurisdiction of the city's judicial authority. This practice, regulated in the Hamburg Prison Act in 2018, allows eligible prisoners to serve their sentences outside of the penal system during the turn of the year. Despite the unique festive menu offered in Hamburg prisons, the confinement during Christmas can be particularly challenging for those who are not granted early release.
Source: www.stern.de
