MOSCOW: Russian lawmakers introduced legislation yesterday that would make spreading separatist views or expressing sympathy for separatist groups a criminal offence punishable by jail.
The bill submitted to the State Duma, Russia’s lower parliament house, would establish jail terms of up to six years for spreading “separatist propaganda” and in some cases up to 20 years for planning or publicly calling for action that would threaten Russia’s territorial integrity.
“In conditions of increased pressure on Russia, we must arm the law enforcement system with additional instruments to fight separatism,” Yevgeny Fyodorov, a lawmaker from Putin’s United Russia party and a sponsor of the bill, told Ekho Moskvy radio.
Some Russians have expressed concern that China could encroach on Russian territory in the sparsely populated reaches of Siberia, north of China’s border.
REUTERS
