Translated material
It will be even easier to condemn a person to a life without rights
It will now be possible to be included in the Rosfinmonitoring list of “extremists and terrorists” due to any criminal case if the investigation or inquiry indicates a motive of hatred or enmity. The bill , which will significantly expand the list of grounds for inclusion in the list of “extremists,” was approved by the State Duma on December 12. “Kholod” studied this bill and answers the main questions about the repressive mechanism, which the founder of the human rights project “First Department,” lawyer Ivan Pavlov, calls “civil death.”
It will be possible to be included on the list of extremists without a court decision for almost anything that the authorities consider a crime. This will affect both those who stayed and those who left.
What is the list of “extremists and terrorists”?
The Russian authorities include in the list of “extremists and terrorists” people who have had criminal cases brought against them under articles related to the commission and preparation of a terrorist attack or activities that officials consider extremist. People who have been given administrative punishment under the article on financial support of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction are also included there.
This list is maintained by the Federal Service for Financial Monitoring (Rosfinmonitoring), which is supposed to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Separately, Rosfinmonitoring maintains a list of organizations recognized as terrorist and extremist. A year ago, the European Union imposed sanctions against the department for supporting military aggression against Ukraine and adding oppositionists and journalists to the list of “extremists.”
Why can the authorities now add a person to this list?
The current version of the law on combating the financing of terrorism lists 26 articles of the Criminal Code and one administrative article related to extremism and terrorism. For example, among them there are articles about a terrorist attack, hostage taking and aircraft hijacking.
The authorities actively use some of these articles to repress journalists and opposition activists (for example, an article about the organization of an extremist community). Rosfinmonitoring includes in its list, among others, supporters of Alexei Navalny, residents of Ingushetia protesting against the revision of the border with Chechnya, and LGBT activists . Many people on the list are recognized as political prisoners.
What will change with the adoption of the new law on the list of “extremists”?
Deputies added 13 more articles to the new law. Among them are violent crimes - from murder to causing moderate harm to health - if the person, according to the security forces, had a motive related to hatred and enmity. The authorities also plan to include people in the list of “extremists and terrorists” for criminal cases of “fake news” about the army, hooliganism or desecration of burials – again, if they find motives of hatred or enmity.
Photo: SOPA Images/Getty Images
Also, people prosecuted under articles of repeated discreditation of the army, genocide (the Investigative Committee sometimes initiates such cases both on the events of the Second World War and on current ones - for example, against the Ukrainian military) and on repeated propaganda, demonstration or circulation of Nazi or extremist symbols if the person was previously charged under a similar administrative article.
Moreover, the new law will allow a person to be added to the list for any crime if it was committed based on hatred or enmity. “Such an aggravating circumstance can be used when accused of committing literally any crime, for example, theft, “fakes” about the army or treason,” emphasizes First Department lawyer Evgeny Smirnov. If the new version of the law is approved by the Federation Council and signed by Vladimir Putin, then these rules will begin to work on June 1, 2025.
At the same time, the State Duma changed the procedure by which those included in the list will be assigned the maximum possible amount of expenses per month.
What is the spending limit? And what else will change for a person after being included in this list?
People listed among “extremists and terrorists” are prohibited from making real estate transactions, establishing NGOs, joining public associations, or teaching anything to minors. These restrictions are introduced automatically after inclusion in the list, emphasizes the human rights project “Network Freedoms”.
The current law allows such people to freely spend only 10 thousand rubles a month on themselves and on each family member who does not have their own income. It can be extremely difficult to access a larger amount. However, the law does not limit the receipt and spending of pensions, scholarships and other social benefits. The maximum amount of expenses does not include taxes, fines and other mandatory payments.
From June 1, 2025, the maximum amount of 10 thousand rubles will not be directly specified in the law. The adopted bill states that spending limits will be set by the Russian Government in agreement with the Central Bank. So far, information about the new amount has not been published anywhere.
These are serious restrictions on rights. Does this require a separate court decision?
No. Rosfinmonitoring has the right to include a person in its list not only if there is a conviction, but also if he is a suspect or accused in one of the extremist or terrorist criminal cases.
Lawyer Evgeny Smirnov calls the law on the list “a powerful tool for expanding the extrajudicial prosecution of people.” Lawyer Ivan Pavlov considers the Rosfinmonitoring mechanism “civil death”: “There is nothing to eat, nothing to pay rent, nothing to feed the children; banking transactions are blocked; they don’t hire you because you’re on the black list,” Pavlov describes the life of those on the list of “extremists and terrorists.” People with the status of “extremist” often lose their jobs, although hiring such an employee does not threaten the employer in any way, reports OVD-Info lawyer Valeria Vetoshkina.
I do not live in Russia. Will my life be affected by being included on the list?
Lawyer Ivan Pavlov believes that the authorities will use the new powers to put pressure on Russians living abroad. He points out that the international agency for combating extremism and terrorism, FATF, helps countries exchange data from blacklists. Therefore, after being included in the list, a Russian may face blocking of accounts even in foreign banks, including “unfriendly” countries, and he will have to prove that inclusion in this list was politically motivated.
Thus, in August 2024, Rosfinmonitoring added Kira Yarmysh, former press secretary of Alexei Navalny, to the list of “extremists”. On the same day, Yarmysh reported that her account was blocked by the American payment system PayPal.
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Is it possible to get removed from the list?
The law provides several grounds for exclusion from the list of extremists: termination of a criminal case, cancellation of a rehabilitation sentence, expungement or expungement of a criminal record, cancellation of punishment under the administrative article on financial support of terrorism.
A person must also be removed from the list in the event of death.
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Author: Kholod editorial staff Photo: China News Service / Getty Images