Putin Signs Law On Confiscation Of Property From Russians

For "fakes" about the army.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law allowing to confiscate property from Russians convicted under the article on spreading "fakes" about the Russian army (Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). The document was published on the official portal of legal information of the Russian Federation.

The law amends the Criminal Code (CC) of the Russian Federation and expands the list of offences for which confiscation of property may be envisaged. These include:

public calls to extremism (Art. 280);

public calls for actions aimed at violating the integrity of the Russian Federation (Art. 280.1);

discrediting the army (Art. 280.3);

public calls for activities directed against the security of the Russian Federation (Art. 280.4);

calls for sanctions (Art. 284.2);

assisting in the execution of decisions of international organisations in which the Russian Federation does not participate or of foreign state bodies (Art. 284.3);

rehabilitation of Nazism (Art. 354.1).

The law provides for confiscation of money, valuables or other property that was obtained as a result of committing the above offences or used for activities against Russia's security.

The State Duma passed the law in late January, and the Federation Council approved it on February 7. The first deputy chairman of the Council of Federation's constitutional committee, Vladimir Poletaev, stressed that confiscation is a measure aimed at preventing the commission of crimes and "preventive impact" on citizens. It is planned to confiscate property and valuables from those guilty "of committing crimes against the security of the Russian Federation," he stressed.

The fact that the confiscation law will touch upon calls for activities against the security of the state (Article 280.4 of the Russian Criminal Code) suggests that with its help the authorities intend to "shut up" their critics, said Maria Chashchilova, a lawyer with the OVD-Info human rights project. "No matter how the authors of the bill try to interpret the amendments, the prosecution under the articles listed in it is politically motivated," she emphasised.

Money, valuables and property seized from those convicted for "fakes" about the army and other articles for "offences against the security of the state" could be used to support servicemen and their families, said Aleksandr Yushchenko, first deputy chairman of the State Duma committee on information policy, information technologies and communications. According to him, it will be "determined by the state" where and on what basis the confiscated funds will be spent.