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Rights council chief supports bill to strip terrorists of Russian citizenship

Mikhail Fedotov added that the bill is not applicable to Russians, who received their citizenship by birth

MOSCOW, April 19. /TASS/. Mikhail Fedotov, the head of the Russian Presidential Council for Human Rights and Civil Society, said he supported the recent initiative to strip convicted terrorists of their Russian citizenship.

"My attitude toward this bill is positive," he told TASS.

According to Fedotov, the bill reflects Russian President Vladimir Putin’s idea to revoke citizenship of naturalized citizens who joined the radical Islamic State group, outlawed in Russia.

He added that the bill is not applicable to Russians, who received their citizenship by birth.

"This bill concerns the naturalized citizens, in other words - foreigners and stateless persons, who have been granted Russian citizenship," Fedotov said.

The leaders of all the four factions at the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, the State Duma - Vladimir Vassilyev (United Russia), Gennady Zyuganov (Communist Party of the Russian Federation), Vladimir Zhirinovsky (Liberal Democratic Party) and Sergey Mironov (A Just Russia Party) brought in the bill on Tuesday.

According to the explanatory note, the bill envisages amendments to Article 22 of the Law on Citizenship, under which conviction for a terrorism-related crime under the court sentence that has taken effect will constitute grounds for revoking the decision on acquisition of the Russian citizenship. It was submitted to the State Duma on Tuesday and the lower chamber may give its first reading to the bill in the second half of May.