The State Duma adopted a law on criminal liability for sabotage from the age of 14

State Duma deputies immediately passed a law in the second and third readings that increases criminal liability for sabotage activities.

The bill was introduced into parliament on October 20. Its co-authors were 419 out of 450 deputies. The Duma approved the law unanimously.

According to the adopted amendments to the Criminal Code, the age of criminal responsibility for sabotage is reduced to 14 years (for “terrorist” articles this age threshold is already in effect).

In addition, the new amendments provide for punishment up to life imprisonment “for inducing minors to engage in sabotage activities” and “involving minors in terrorist activities.”

The law also abolishes the statute of limitations for all crimes of sabotage. Those accused of participating in a subversive community will not be given a suspended sentence, and those found guilty of sabotage will be limited in their applications for parole.

State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said that the law was adopted “in the interests of citizens and the security of the country,” as well as “to protect the younger generation from influence from foreign intelligence services and intelligence services that involve them in sabotage.”

The human rights organization “First Department” notes that the authorities now classify as sabotage the arson of battery and relay cabinets, attacks on stations and terminals, or direct arson of trains.

“Many sabotage cases involve “anonymous customers” who offer to commit arson for a reward. Human rights activists believe that provocateurs from the special services may be behind such “orders.” Meanwhile, convictions are handed down, among other things, on the basis of confessions obtained under torture,” writes First Department.