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Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev hinted that members of the punk band Pussy Riot and former tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky might well be excluded from a coming amnesty.
A Bill granting amnesty for thousands of Russian prisoners is expected to be sent to parliament in coming days.
Rights organisations describe Pussy Riot, Mr Khodorkovsky and dozens of people charged with violent rioting at last year's opposition protest in Moscow's Bolotnaya Square as political prisoners.
Mr Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, has already spent 10 years in prison on charges of tax evasion and embezzlement.
Two members of Pussy Riot convicted of hooliganism are now serving two-year prison terms.
But Mr Medvedev said that the government will take into account public opinion when deciding who will be covered by the amnesty.
He said those often called political prisoners are "lucky enough to get in the limelight," but he insisted that "they are not serving time for their political views.
"They are in prison or in jail because they violated public order," he declared.
Also not expected to receive amnesty are 12 people facing charges of riot and assaulting police during an anti-government protest in Moscow last year.
Protesters gathered outside the duma yesterday urging MPs to grant amnesty to the defendants.