Convicts under 21 years of age, female inmates who are pregnant and who have children younger than 8 will be granted presidential pardon in connection with the Youth Year, with a relevant law taking effect upon publishing in Friday's issue of the Official Gazette, Info-Prim Neo reports. Authorities shall ensure the enforcement of the law and within 6 months shall inform the Parliament and the President of Moldova about the developments. The initiative belongs to the head of state. Vladimir Voronin proposed for amnesty 168 convicts who committed misdemeanors and minor crimes, 8 of whom are women. For 518 persons who committed serious and extremely serious crimes, the proposal was to cut their jail terms. As of April 1, Moldova's penitentiaries contained 686 inmates younger than 21, 101 of whom were juveniles. The latest amnesty was granted in 2004 in connection with the tenth anniversary of adoption of Moldova's Constitution. In addition, in 2006 through a series of softening amendments to the Criminal Code there were released about 2,000 convicts.