GROZNY, November 16. /TASS/. Terrorist recruiters should be handed harsher sentences than terrorists, up to the death penalty, Head of Russia’s North Caucasus Republic of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov said.
"Recruiters should receive harsher sentences than terrorists who detonate explosives, take hostages and carry out acts of sabotage," he wrote on Instagram.
"I know that the ‘ohs’ and ‘ahs’ of indignation are about to begin, as people will ask how it is possible to compare a terrorist to a recruiter? But those who were recruited and sent to kill dozens and hundreds of people would have never done that if those monsters had not got into their heads and enticed them to commit crimes," the head of Chechnya added.
Kadyrov also said that he supported the death penalty for terrorist recruiters.
"This is he [the terrorist recruiter] that should be sentenced to be shot, since unlike a suicide bomber, he wants to live and does not choose to die," he pointed out.
Earlier on Thursday, Russia’s State Duma, the lower house of parliament, passed the first reading of a bill, toughening criminal responsibility for recruiting terrorists up to a life sentence. Under the bill, such crimes will be punishable by prison terms ranging from eight to 20 years and a fine between 300,000 ($5,000) and 700,000 rubles ($11,700) or a life sentence. The current law stipulates a maximum punishment for recruiters of up to 10 years in prison.
The bill was prepared and submitted by Chechen MP Adalbi Shkhagoshev, the First Deputy Head of the United Russia faction.