The State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted in the first reading a bill providing for amendments to Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Also adopted in the first reading was the bill “On Amendments to the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses” (on clarifying liability for actions related to inciting hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity).
Both bills were proposed for consideration by the parliament by Russian President Vladimir Putin, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
As Harry Minkh, the presidential representative in the State Duma, said, the essence of the innovations suggests that if a person commits an offense under the current version of Article 282 for the first time, then this will not be considered a socially dangerous act and he will be brought to administrative responsibility.
“And in those cases when a person repeatedly commits such an offense within a year, then this should be considered as a criminal offense and, accordingly, prosecuted under Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, part one,” the presidential representative clarified.
In turn, the head of the Committee on State Building and Legislation, Pavel Krasheninnikov, added that the law will have retroactive effect, and previously initiated criminal cases will be terminated.
At the same time, deputy Sergei Shargunov drew attention to the vagueness of the term “extremism,” noting that the article could be a reason for settling scores.
As a result, both bills were unanimously adopted, the bill “On Amendments to Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation” was supported by 394 people (56 people did not vote), the bill “On Amendments to the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses” was supported by 394 people (1 person abstained, 56 people did not vote).