A new bill would permit Russian authorities to confiscate money, valuables and other assets from people convicted of inciting “extremist activities” and deliberately spreading false information to discredit the country’s military and hurt state security.
Following a quick approval from the lower house last week, the upper house of Russia’s parliament unanimously endorsed the bill Wednesday. President Vladimir Putin is expected to sign it into law.
Vyacheslav Volodin, the lower house speaker, said the measure would strengthen punishments for “traitors who sling mud at our country and our troops” and “strip those scoundrels of honorary titles, confiscate their assets, money and other valuables.”
He also said that those found criticizing Moscow “have betrayed their homeland.”
A law passed following the onset of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, which sought to crack down on dissent and silence Putin’s critics, made discrediting the Russian military a criminal offense. This led to many Russians, including some activists and bloggers, being sentenced to long prison terms.
The Kremlin has said Russian society is firmly behind the military campaign in Ukraine. Simultaneously, it has intensified its suppression of dissent, targeting individuals who express opposition. Prominent critics of the Kremlin have been imprisoned or forced into exile.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.