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Putin signs law imposing life imprisonment for sabotage — document

The law also introduces an 8-to 15-year prison term with a fine of 300,000 to 700,000 rubles for persuading, recruiting or otherwise drawing in a person to commit sabotage, including for financing a subversive act

MOSCOW, December 29. /TASS/. Criminal liability up to life imprisonment for aiding sabotage activities is introduced in Russia, according to the corresponding law that was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and published on Thursday.

The document supplements the Russian Criminal Code with new articles that establish liability for assisting, embroiling, eliciting and inducing to commit acts of sabotage and also for their financing. In addition, training for committing acts of sabotage and establishing criminal networks for committing sabotage has become a criminal offense.

Contributing to subversive activities

The law introduces an 8-to 15-year prison term with a fine of 300,000 to 700,000 rubles ($4,200-$9,800) for persuading, recruiting or otherwise drawing in a person to commit sabotage, including for financing a subversive act. The same crime committed by abusing an official position of authority will entail up to 10 to 20 years in prison and a fine of 500,000 rubles to 1 million rubles ($7,000-$14,000). It may also entail life imprisonment.

Organizing networks of saboteurs

The law introduces a 15-to 20-year prison term with a fine of up to 1 million rubles ($14,000) for organizing or directing a sabotage network. It may also entail life imprisonment. Participating in a syndicate of saboteurs may be punished by 5 to 10 years in prison with a fine of up to 500,000 rubles.

Exemption from liability

The person, who committed one of such crimes, may be exempted from criminal responsibility if he or she timely reported to the authorities or otherwise contributed to the prevention or suppression of the crime, which he or she financed or contributed to the commission of. In this case, the person’s actions should not contain other corpus delicti. However, according to the law, the termination of participation in a sabotage network at the time of or after the detention of a person cannot be "recognized as voluntary".