Against the background of the situation in Ukraine, deputies of the State Duma approved in the third, final reading the laws on tougher punishment for calls for the imposition of sanctions against Russia, for spreading fakes about the country’s armed forces, and also expanded the scope of the “Dima Yakovlev law”. On Friday, March 4, reports TASS.
For fakes about the military and the army, a sentence of up to 15 years in prison can be introduced
The initiative to punish fake news about the Russian Armed Forces was also approved immediately in the second and third readings.
According to the new law, the dissemination of knowingly false information about the Russian Armed Forces under the guise of reliable reports is punishable by a fine of 700,000 to 1.5 million rubles or imprisonment for up to three years.
If an official position was used to spread a fake, as well as if the crime was committed by a group of persons or a group of persons “with the artificial creation of evidence”, the punishment will be from five to ten years in prison.
In the event that deliberately false information entailed grave consequences, a punishment of 10 to 15 years in prison is provided.
15years of imprisonment
maximum sentence for fake news about the Russian Armed Forces
Calls for sanctions against Russia could face up to three years
The amendments supplementing the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation with the article “Calls for the introduction of restrictive measures against the Russian Federation, citizens of the Russian Federation or Russian legal entities” were adopted on March 4, also immediately in the second and third readings.
According to the new law, calls for sanctions against Russia face a fine of up to 500,000 rubles, forced labor for up to three years, arrest for up to six months, and imprisonment for up to three years with a possible fine of up to 200,000. rubles.
3year of imprisonment
threatens for calls for sanctions against Russia
The corresponding article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation will be applied to Russians who earlier during the year were brought to administrative responsibility for similar offenses.
Extension of the “Dima Yakovlev law”
Amendments expanding the scope of the law “On Measures of Influence on Persons Involved in Violations of Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms, Rights and Freedoms of Citizens of the Russian Federation”, unofficially called the “Dima Yakovlev Law”, were also adopted by the deputies in the third, final reading.
What is the essence of “Dima Yakovlev’s law”
The law is named in memory of a dead two-year-old Russian boy who was locked in a car by his adoptive American father in the sun. The document was Russia’s response to the Magnitsky Act, which imposed visa sanctions on Russians involved, according to the US authorities, in human rights violations.
The Russian law applies to US citizens who have violated the rights of Russians or were involved in crimes against them. Such Americans are banned from entering Russia, and the activities of legal entities controlled by them are suspended. The document also applies to “citizens of those states that have decided to ban the entry of citizens of the Russian Federation and seize the assets of citizens of the Russian Federation on the grounds of the involvement of citizens of the Russian Federation in human rights violations.”
The adoption of the law led to the closure of American agencies in Russia for the selection of children and the denunciation of a bilateral agreement on the adoption of minors.
The law also banned the activities in Russia of US-funded political NGOs, as well as those non-profit organizations whose activities pose a threat to Russian interests.
In addition, according to the same law, a person with Russian and US citizenship cannot be a member or head of an NPO that carries out political activities in Russia, or its structural subdivisions.
Now the law extends the ban on entry into Russia not only for US citizens, but also for all foreigners and stateless persons involved in violations of “fundamental human rights and freedoms” or committing a crime against Russians abroad.
In addition to the ban on entry into the country, restrictive measures include the seizure of financial and other assets in Russia, a ban on any transactions with property and investments, suspension of activities in the country of legal entities under their control, powers in the boards of directors or other management bodies of organizations, registered on the territory of the Russian Federation.
At the same time, the law does not provide for expanding restrictions on non-profit organizations (NPOs) participating in political activities in Russia, and does not affect the adoption of children by families abroad.
Adopted in 2012, the “Dima Yakovlev Law” was a response to the “Magnitsky Act”, according to which the US authorities imposed sanctions on Russians and organizations from Russia that violated human rights. In 2018, the “Dima Yakovlev law” was already amended to cover those who interfere in Russian elections.
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