About 700 prisoners were released early in the UK due to lack of space

Brief retelling from RIA II

Around 700 prisoners have been released in the UK as part of a government plan to tackle a shortage of prison places.

Those released spent less than 575 days behind bars and served a third of their sentences.

Over the next 10 months, about 4,500 prisoners will be released early, including those sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.

LONDON, October 1 - RIA Novosti. About 700 prisoners in the UK have been released as part of a government plan to solve the problem of a lack of places in prisons, the Telegraph newspaper reported.

“Today, 700 prisoners were released, including those convicted of theft, violent crimes and domestic violence,” the newspaper writes.

As noted in the publication, all those released spent less than 575 days behind bars and served a third of their sentence.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, at the end of September the number of free places in men's prisons was just above 1.1 thousand out of almost 85 thousand places, the publication reports.

“Over the next 10 months, about 4,500 prisoners will be released early, with each new group including prisoners with increasingly longer prison terms. The final group will include prisoners sentenced to more than 12 years in prison,” writes the Telegraph.