The State Duma adopted a bill depriving those accused of serious crimes of the right to special treatment

In the third reading, the State Duma adopted a bill depriving those accused of serious crimes of the right to have their cases considered in a special manner. This was reported on the website of the lower house of parliament.

a corresponding initiative to the State Duma in April The Supreme Court submitted . The bill involves changes to Articles 314 and 316 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Article 314 sets out the grounds for considering criminal cases in a special manner, that is, without examining evidence.

Now those accused under articles for which the sentence does not exceed 10 years can apply for consideration of the case in a special manner. This includes serious crimes. For a special order, the accused must admit guilt, and the accuser and the victim must agree to the special order.

If the bill is adopted, only cases under articles of minor or moderate gravity (for which the punishment does not exceed five years in prison) will be considered under a special procedure.

In March, President Vladimir Putin demanded that cases not be considered in a special manner in case of poor-quality investigation work. “If there are doubts about the proof of the accusation, about the voluntariness and awareness of the accused’s statement of such a petition, it is necessary to demand that the case be considered in the usual manner. Consideration of cases in a special order is, of course, an important tool, but it should not serve as a cover for poor-quality, incompetent work in the field of investigation,” Putin said.

In response to this, Yuri Chaika, who then held the position of Prosecutor General, proposed reducing the number of criminal cases considered in this manner and allowing a special procedure only for cases of crimes of minor and medium gravity.