Amendments on criminal liability for aiding international courts in prosecution of Russians put forward in Russia’s lower house

Amendments to a bill that introduces criminal liability for cooperating with international organisations that Russia is not a member of have been put forward for its second reading in the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, the amendments are available on the house’s official website.

The amendment authors plan to add an article to the criminal code for “providing assistance in execution of decisions made by international organisations that do not have Russia as a member or foreign state institutions”.

Assisting foreign institutions to criminally prosecute Russian officials for decisions they made while in office, other people for actions they made while serving in the army or in volunteer corps will be designated as a crime that will land perpetrators for up to five years in prison.

One of the amendment authors, chair of the State Duma committee for security and countering corruption Vasily Piskarev, claimed that they aimed to protect Russian citizens.

“Demonisation and persecution of Russians along with countless sanctions have unfortunately become a routine overseas. Some international organisations that imitate justice are drawn into this campaign launched by the US and their satellites.”

“Assisting these organisations in the execution of their vile decisions is nothing short of working for the enemy. We want criminal prosecution for these actions,” he wrote.

Earlier, amendments to the criminal code that will introduce life imprisonment for high treason were introduced in the State Duma.