The President signed amendments on discrediting the army and “fakes” about it

Responsibility for discrediting the armed forces and "fakes" have been tightened and extended to information about volunteers.

On March 18, 2023, Vladimir Putin signed laws amending the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Offenses. The second reading of the relevant bills, we recall, took place on March 2, and on March 14, 2023, the State Duma adopted them in the third reading. On March 15, the laws were approved by the Federation Council.

Amendments to the Criminal Code were included in the draft law , which initially concerned the clarification of liability under Article 215.4 of the Criminal Code (illegal entry into a protected facility) and had previously been adopted in the first reading.

According to the law, Art. 207.3 of the Criminal Code (public dissemination of deliberately false information about the use of the armed forces and the exercise by state bodies of their powers) and 280.3 of the Criminal Code (public actions aimed at discrediting the actions of the Russian armed forces and state bodies abroad) apply to volunteer formations, organizations and persons facilitating the fulfillment of tasks, assigned to the Russian armed forces.

In addition, liability under Part 1 of Art. 207.3 of the Criminal Code was toughened: the maximum punishment for it increased from three to five years in prison, under Part 1 of Art. 280.3 of the Criminal Code (repeated discredit of the armed forces) - also from three to five years in prison, and under Part 2 of Art. 280.3 of the Criminal Code (discrediting the army, resulting in death by negligence and (or) causing harm to the health of citizens, property, mass violations of public order and (or) public security) - from five to seven years in prison. Punishment under Part 2 and Part 3 of Art. 207.3 of the Criminal Code remained the same - from five to ten years and from ten to fifteen years in prison, respectively.

Amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses were included in the draft law , which initially dealt only with media liability for distributing ammunition manufacturing instructions. Liability under Art. 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the armed forces and government agencies in order to protect the interests of the Russian Federation) also now comes not only for discrediting persons directly related to the Russian armed forces, but also in case of discrediting volunteer formations, individuals and organizations that contribute to the fulfillment of the tasks of the Russian army. The punishment under this article remains the same.

From our point of view, the introduction into the legislation of a ban on discrediting the actions of the Russian armed forces and government agencies abroad and the appearance of an article about "fake" about the army was an unreasonable restriction on the right to freedom of expression, designed to suppress criticism of the political course of the authorities, respectively, the expansion of this ban and We consider the toughening of punishment for its violation as a new step on this path.

Sources

• A law on the prohibition of defamation and slander against participants in a special military operation was adopted // State Duma of the Russian Federation. 2023. March 14.
• The Federation Council approved the introduction of punishment for discrediting volunteer formations // Businessman. 2023. March 15.
• Federal Law No. 58-FZ dated March 18, 2023 "On Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation" // Official Internet portal of legal information. 2023. March 18.