The State Duma Committee on State Construction and Legislation on Monday supported for the second reading the amendments to the bill on equating to treason going over to the side of the enemy. One of the amendments provides for punishment of up to four years in prison for propaganda, demonstration, as well as the manufacture and distribution of Nazi symbols.
The draft provides for imprisonment for up to 20 years for the participation of a Russian citizen in an armed conflict “for purposes contrary to the interests of the Russian Federation” (amendments to Article 208 of the Criminal Code).
The punishment under the article “Mercenary” (Article 359 of the Criminal Code) is also significantly toughened: the punishment for the mercenaries themselves will be from 7 to 15 years in prison, and for their recruitment – from 12 to 18 years. Previously, the law provided for mercenaries with imprisonment from 3 to 7 years.
The draft law also introduces changes to the regulation of "espionage" (Article 276 of the Criminal Code). Now, “espionage” will cover the transfer, collection, theft or storage “for the purpose of transferring to the enemy” information that “can be used against the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation” in the context of an armed conflict. For illegal transfer outside of Russia of media with data containing state secrets, will face up to 7 years in prison.
For leaving Russia, a citizen admitted to state secrets will face up to 7 years in prison.
A malicious violation of the rules for protecting the stability of the Internet in Russia will entail imprisonment for up to 3 years.