State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin announced three new initiatives on his Telegram channel to tighten control over "foreign agents" and "traitors."
It is proposed to expand the grounds for recognizing "foreign agents," for example, to include those who support international organizations in which Russia does not participate (such as the International Criminal Court, which issued a warrant for the arrest of Vladimir Putin) or help foreign government bodies in activities aimed "against the security of Russia." A person will also be recognized as a "foreign agent" for "involving citizens in the collection of military-technical information."
Cases of "foreign agents" and "those who fled the country" are proposed to be considered "without the participation of the defendant." Currently, the draft includes in the list of "simplified justice" articles for "public calls for terrorism, extremism," "violation of the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation," "mass riots," "waging an aggressive war," for "fakes" about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and "discrediting" the Russian army, "destruction or damage to military graves and monuments," "rehabilitation of Nazism."
For "discrediting" the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and calls for sanctions against Russia, it is proposed to introduce a penalty of imprisonment for up to five years with confiscation of property. For "paid assistance to international organizations in which Russia does not participate," a more severe punishment is provided — up to seven years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.
State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin believes that the new measures are aimed at "protecting Russia's sovereignty and preventing external interference in the country's internal affairs." "Those who betrayed our country should not have the opportunity to escape justice and responsibility, even while being outside its borders," Volodin reiterated his standard threat to citizens who have left Russia.