Русско-англо-русский юридический словарь

Amnesty (from the Greek ἀμνηστία amnestia (Amnesty, Wm Chrichton Μεγα Ελληνο-Αγγλικον Λεξικον 1960) is defined as: "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of persons, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of persons who are subject to trial but have not yet been convicted." (Wikipedia)

Technically, however, an amnesty differs from a general pardon in that the latter simply relieves from punishment whereas the former declares innocence or abolishes the crime. (Britannica)

The legal meaning of "amnesty" is the complete obliteration of all legal remembrance of a crime, rendering the previous suspect/criminal completely free of charges. This is different from a pardon as amnesty removes any traces of the crime from government records, effectively restoring the legal status of a person to as it was before they were accused. (Answers)

General pardon refers to pardon granted by a government to a group or class of persons. [...] General pardon is also known as amnesty. (US Legal)