Putin signs law allowing 5 years imprisonment for protest “infringements”

2014/7/23 11:03:21

If you live in Russia – and that includes the illegally seized Ukrainian territory of Crimea -   Vladimir Putin has signed a new law that means any person who has incurred administrative penalties for protesting more than twice in six months could face imprisonment for up to 5 years if charged with the same “offence”.

 


News and commentary from Ukraine Business Online

 

MOSCOW, July 23, 2014 (UBO) - Among the bills signed by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on July 22 was one which seriously toughens penalties for “infringement of order” in holding or organizing public events, the Kharkiv Human Rights Group reported today.

 

A person who has incurred administrative penalties more than twice in six months could face imprisonment for up to 5 years if charged with the same ‘offence’.  Otherwise they face large fines.

 

The maximum term of administrative detention has been increased from 15 to 30 days.

 

A new article of the Code of Administrative Offences imposes liability for “repeated failure to obey the legitimate demand of a police or FSB [Security Service] officer”.  This can result in administrative arrest of up to 30 days.

 

Other ‘innovations’ include administrative arrest of up to 10 days for infringements of the rules for holding mass events.  Up till now this was punishable only by a fine or compulsory labor.

 

An article has been introduced imposing liability for hampering the work of infrastructure, with this punishable by administrative arrest of up to 15 days.

 

MPs of United Russia, Putin’s political party, who proposed the bill back on March 31, claimed that “citizens’ rights and freedoms need to be protected against actions caused by unauthorized meetings”.

 

UBO Commentary

 

The new law is just one of a series of measures the Putin “quack-on-demand” parliament has adopted in an attempt to assure that the kind of “Maidan” actions that brought down the corrupt Yanukovych regime in Ukraine could be avoided in Russia.

 

It seems logical to assume that the most draconian implementation of the new law would be directed against the Crimean Tatars, who have opposed not only the Russian invasion of Crimea but also the attempts to force all Crimean’s to accept Russian citizenship.

 

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Jim Davis

Photo courtesy Grani.ru

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