| The FSB and the Ministry of Justice have prepared a law according to which the president will not fight terrorism At the first meeting after the parliamentary recess next Wednesday, the Duma will discuss a package of anti-terrorism laws. Key among them is the bill “On Countering Terrorism”, prepared by the FSB and the Russian Ministry of Justice. The security forces decided that the law “On the Fight against Terrorism” adopted in 1998 did not sufficiently meet the spirit of the times, so they expanded, specified and tightened some of the norms of this document, and also invented a fair number of innovations.
For example, if the old law states that concessions to terrorists should be minimal, then the security forces’ document proclaims the complete “inadmissibility of political concessions.” The bill assigns to the FSB of Russia the status of the leading entity in the system of federal executive authorities involved in the fight against terrorism.
Among the measures of general counteraction to terrorism, the authors of the bill name “the creation of a mechanism for paying remuneration for the provision of information that helps prevent a terrorist attack, search for those who committed it, or solve other problems in the fight against terrorism.” The participation of armed forces in the localization of large-scale and especially dangerous terrorist attacks is specified in a special line. That is, the army can be legally used in internal Russian conflicts.
One of the main innovations of the bill was the introduction of three special legal regimes applied in cases of terrorist threats. These are the terrorist threat regime, the counter-terrorist operation regime and the state of emergency regime.
The law spells out in great detail the mechanism for conducting a counter-terrorism operation, as well as its side effects. According to the security forces, the decision to conduct a counter-terrorism operation should be made by the prime minister, with subsequent notification of the president. However, in cases where such a decision is required immediately, the director of the FSB has the right to make this. Next, he can appoint the head of the operation - a representative of the FSB, who will solely command the operation. “Interference by any other person, regardless of position, in the operational management of a counter-terrorism operation is not permitted,” says the law. This means that even the President, being the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, does not have the right to interfere with the actions of a certain FSB officer appointed to lead the counter-terrorism operation.
According to the document, “the head of the counter-terrorism operation is responsible for its conduct as a whole and for violations of federal legislation committed during its course.” Probably, this rule is aimed at removing the head of state from the attack if the counter-terrorism operation does not go well. They say I would like to intervene, but I’m not supposed to.
The operations manager is given the broadest powers. He “determines the composition of the forces and means participating in the counter-terrorism operation”, and “determines the boundaries of the zone of this operation”, and “gives a combat order to carry out force actions.” And also “exercises powers other than those specified above to direct the counter-terrorism operation.” Moreover, to introduce this legal regime, only information about an impending terrorist attack is sufficient.
What is a counter-terrorist operation regime and how will it turn out for ordinary residents of a dangerous area? According to the text of the bill, law enforcement officers will check citizens' documents and deliver them to the police if they do not exist. It is possible to change the operating modes of communication systems up to the interruption of communication services, temporary forced withdrawal of personal transceiver radio stations, and the introduction of control over telephone conversations. Citizens will be prohibited from being on the streets at specified times without special passes, and those conducting the operation will be able to freely enter residential buildings.
It is planned to prohibit or restrict public events, the sale of weapons, ammunition, explosives, and to establish a special regime for the sale of medicines containing narcotic drugs, alcoholic beverages and alcohol-containing products.
The security forces did not ignore the activities of the media, for which the law stipulates a special operating regime. It is unlikely that anyone will disagree with the demands not to promote terrorism and not to disclose the technical methods and tactics of a counter-terrorist operation. However, journalists are also prohibited from disseminating information “containing facts and scenes of particularly brutal violence.” It remains unclear who and by what criteria will determine the extent of this cruelty. Ksenia VERETENNIKOVA |
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