More than 1,300 prisoners in Sichuan province may get parole or released ahead of the upcoming National Day holiday, Sichuan news website Newssc.org reported. All the parole or sentence reduction requests will be dealt with before October 1.

You Zhushi, deputy director of the Sichuan Prison Administration, said that it was the first time in history that prisons in Sichuan decide to release a group of prisoners ahead of the National Day celebrations.

Prisoners who will get parole or be released are the ones who have only a short period remaining on their sentences and have been on good behavior. Violent criminals or gang criminals will still be under strict control, said the offical.

Prisons in Sichuan began parole hearings in the beginning of this month, and some prisoners have already gone home to spend the National Day holiday.

(China Daily September 25, 2009)