After a brief debate, Russia's upper house of parliament on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill that
will allow authorities to confiscate money, valuables and other property
from those convicted of spreading "intentionally false information" about the Russian army. country.
The law, which passed just as quickly in the lower house last week, is expected to be signed into law soon by President Vladimir Putin.
The speaker of the Duma, the lower house, Vyacheslav Volodin, said the measure
would toughen punishment for “traitors
who throw mud at our country and our troops” and would “strip such scoundrels of honorary titles, confiscate their property, their money and other valuables.”
Russian authorities have used the law
against “discrediting” the Russian military,
which includes crimes such as “justifying terrorism” and spreading “fake news” about the military,
to silence Putin's critics,
when
Next month
there are presidential elections in Russia.
Furthermore, the war in Ukraine that began at the end of February 2022 has become
a battlefield where both armies are stagnant, perpetuating the conflict,
while casualties continue to occur.
A Putin doll on the occasion of the carnival in Cologne, Germany.
Photo: EFE
Many activists, bloggers and ordinary citizens
have been sentenced to long prison terms.
The new confiscation law will apply to those convicted of publicly inciting “extremist activities,” for calling for measures that threaten state security, or for “discrediting” the armed forces.
Discrediting the armed forces
is now a criminal offense
based on a law adopted as part of the broad government crackdown on dissent following the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The rule
does not affect real estate assets
among the assets that can be seized, unlike the draconian Soviet legislation that authorized the confiscation of homes.
Ukraine also moves forward with a controversial law
The Ukrainian Parliament in turn approved this Wednesday in first reading
a controversial bill
to
simplify enlistment procedures in the army,
after two years of war against Russia, the deputies announced.
A total of 243 deputies voted in favor of the project, according to several legislators writing on social networks.
To be approved, the document needed a minimum of 226 votes.
The text, however, must still be debated in the chamber and undergo a second reading to be definitively adopted.
The Ukrainian military has suffered losses in the war against Russia, although it has not reported the extent of them.
Photo: Reuters
The procedure can take several weeks and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenki will have to promulgate the document.
A debate on mobilization has been taking place in Ukraine for several weeks.
The army has suffered losses
in the war against Russia, although
it has not communicated the extent of them.
But unlike at the beginning of the conflict,
the army is now looking for volunteers for the front.
The document voted on this Wednesday plans
to simplify the procedures for enlisting
in the army and
introduce sanctions for those who resist.
The sanctions must, however, be approved by a court, unlike a first project presented by the government in January.
According to critics, the proposal does not solve the problem of the demobilization of those who have been at the front for a long time.
Zelensky had stated in December that the army had proposed to mobilize
up to 500,000 additional people.
With agency information