NOVO-OGARYOVO, August 15. /TASS/. Organizers of the so-called "death groups" on social media are no different from murderers, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Vladimir Vasilyev, head of the United Russian faction in the State Duma (lower house of parliament).
"They [those organizing "death groups" on social media for persuading children to commit suicide] also make money from it," Putin said. "How is that different from murderers? There is no difference," the president added.
Putin stated that encouraging a person to commit suicide amounted to attempting on their life. He agreed with Vasilyev, who said that administrators of such social media groups often used more sophisticated methods when compared to ordinary murderers.
Vasilyev thanked the president for supporting and controlling the fight against the "death groups." "We were in a difficult situation, unfortunately, but it is a good thing that we have been paying attention to it," the senior lawmaker said. "These social media groups promote suicide among underage children, taking advantage of their fragile psyche, so it is a very serious issue," Vasilyev added. "Your support means a lot to us, we plan to continue this work creating a legal bar against this scourge," he said addressing the president.