MOSCOW, April 18. /TASS/. Russia’s State Duma approved a bill, in the second and third readings, on Tuesday that would enshrine into law life sentences as punishment for treason and would also make the penalty for terrorism more stringent.
The bill also stipulates criminal liability, with a maximum punishment of up to five years behind bars, for facilitating the execution of judgments, rulings or verdicts by international organizations in which Russia is not a participant.
The bill was submitted to the State Duma by the Russian government in November 2022. It also calls for making a number of amendments to the Russian Criminal Code, which are aimed at toughening the punishment for terrorist crimes and crimes against the foundations of the constitutional order and state security. A charge of treason will now be punishable by life imprisonment (currently, it is up to 20 years of incarceration). The bill would raise the maximum prison term for carrying out a terrorist attack from 15 to 20 years in prison. An act of international terrorism will now be punishable by a sentence of 12 years to life in prison (currently, 10-20 years of incarceration or life imprisonment). The minimum penalty for recruiting for or engaging in the commission of terrorist crimes will be increased from five to seven years, with the minimum punishment for abetting terrorist crimes going from 10 to 12 years imprisonment.
Organizing and participating in a terrorist group will carry a penalty of from 10 to 15 years of incarceration (currently, from five to 10 years). The punishment will be toughened for sabotage aimed at damaging critical services and transport infrastructure facilities as well as for harming the health and well-being of people in order to subvert the country’s economic security and defense capability. These crimes will carry a punishment of up to 20 years in prison (currently, 15 years).
Additionally, the Russian Criminal Code is being updated to include Article 284.3 ("Providing Assistance in the Execution of Verdicts by International Organizations in Which the Russian Federation is Not a Participant or by Foreign State Bodies). This new crime will be punishable by a fine ranging from 300,000 rubles up to 1 mln rubles (over $3,600 - $12,250), or a prison sentence of up to five years.