© dpa
Five weeks before Christmas Eve, the first offenders in Berlin are released from prison early thanks to the so-called Christmas amnesty.
As things stand at present, a total of 97 prisoners are benefiting from the scheme this year, as the Senate Justice Administration announced in response to an enquiry.
That is roughly the same number as in the previous year - but significantly fewer than in previous years. According to the justice administration, 99 offenders were sent home early at Christmas in 2023. In 2022, there were 170, and 141 in each of the two previous years. 170 inmates were also allowed to leave prison early in 2019. The justice administration, led by CDU senator Felor Badenberg since spring 2023, did not give a reason for this development. At the same time, the authority pointed out that these are preliminary figures. The final figures for the clemency programme, as the Christmas amnesty is correctly known, will not be available until early 2025.
Early release is intended to give prisoners who would have been released around the turn of the year anyway a nice celebration and help with their reintegration. The conditions are strict: only prisoners who have not attracted negative attention in prison and have not served a long prison sentence are eligible. It must also be ensured that they have a roof over their heads - and that they themselves are in agreement.
In Berlin, prisoners who would have been released between 14 November and 3 January 2025 anyway are specifically eligible for the scheme this year. According to the justice department, the majority of the offenders (48) are in the Plötzensee prison in the Charlottenburg district. 15 of the offenders are being held in the Heidering prison in Berlin, which is located in Brandenburg. Nine of these are women. According to the administration, a total of around 3,550 people (as of 13 November) are currently imprisoned in Berlin. Prisoners are also released early in most other federal states thanks to the Christmas reprieve. In 2023, around 1,000 offenders were released early from prison nationwide by mid-December, according to figures at the time. Bavaria never grants pardons at the end of the year as a matter of principle.