MOSCOW, March 30. /TASS/. Russia is consistently moving toward the establishment of a legislative basis for the most effective and clear-cut regulations in the fight against doping abuse and other violations in sports, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko told TASS on Thursday.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed earlier in the day a decree, which introduces a list of banned performance enhancing drugs and prohibited methods. The list is particularly including anabolics, peptide hormones, growth promoting substances, metabolism hormones and modulators as well as banned methods including manipulations with blood.
"We are consistently moving in the direction of setting up a strong legislative basis, which on the one hand would pave the way for anti-doping agencies independent activities and on the other would be strictly regulating the fight against doping in our country," Mutko said in an interview with TASS.
"This is another serious step in the fight against doping abuse," Mutko said. "We are saying here that there had been never state-sponsored programs as it is completely untrue. On the contrary, we are moving in the direction of heightening responsibility for doping abuse."
"A list approved by the government’s decree includes substances and methods, which can result in criminal persecution in case of violations," Mutko said. "Beginning now, a criminal case would be launched if an athlete was guilty of doping abuse or it may be launched against people, who encouraged an athlete into taking banned performance enhancing drugs and no matter who these persons may be - a coach or a doctor."
Last November, Russian lawmakers adopted a law tightening responsibility for the encouragement of performance enhancing drugs in sports. The law stipulates a criminal responsibility for encouraging athletes to consume performance enhancing drugs.
The bill was initiated by the United Russia and the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) political parties and initially stipulated a financial fine of up to 500,000 rubles (over $7,350 at that time’s foreign currency exchange rate) or a fine equal to six-month income of a person guilty of inducing an athlete into doping consumption.
A person found guilty of encouraging an athlete into doping rule violations could be also suspended from his or her professional activities up to three years, according to the initially proposed draft law.