Fines for fakes about Russian state bodies of authority to top 5 mln rubles, up to 15 years in prison - amendments

MOSCOW. March 21 (Interfax) - The Russian State Duma on Tuesday will consider amendments to the legislation on liability for false information on the work of Russian bodies of state authority abroad; the fines will be up to five million rubles and prison terms will be up to 15 years, the relevant Duma committee told Interfax.

"The amendments on liability for fakes on the work of Russian bodies of state authority are expected to be considered in the session of the State Duma on Tuesday," the source said.

According to the amendments possessed by Interfax, they propose also applying Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code "to public dissemination as true reports of information known to be false aimed at discrediting the exercise by Russian bodies of state authority of their powers outside Russia."

By analogy to liability for fakes on the Russian Armed Forces, this will be punishable by a fine in an amount of 700,000 to 1.5 million rubles, or up to three years in prison.

The same action committed while abusing one's office, or by a group of persons, or "with artificial creation of evidence for the prosecution," or "for lucrative motives," or "for motives of political, ideological, racial, ethnic, or religious hatred or feud" is punishable by a fine in an amount of three million rubles to five million rubles or five to ten years in prison.

If the said actions led to grave consequences, the punishment will be ten to 15 years in prison, according to the amendments.

Amendments are also made to Article 280.3 of the Russian Criminal Code. Punishment is envisaged for "pubic actions aimed at discrediting the exercise by Russian bodies of state authority of their powers outside Russia."

In that case, the fine will be from 100,000 rubles to 300,000 rubles, or up to three years in prison.

If these actions result in death by negligence and (or) infliction of harm on citizens health, property, mass violations of public order and (or) public safety or result in obstruction of the functioning or termination of the functioning of vital infrastructure facilities, transport or social infrastructure, credit organizations, energy, industrial, or communication facilities, they are punishable by a fine in an amount of 300,000 rubles to one million rubles or up to five years in prison.

Amendments are also made to the Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses.

Specifically, public actions "aimed at discrediting the exercise by Russian bodies of state authority of their powers outside Russia" will lead to an administrative fine in an amount of 30,000 rubles to 50,000 rubles for citizens, 100,000 rubles to 200,000 rubles for officials, and 300,000 rubles to 500,000 rubles for legal entities.

Punishment is envisaged for situations where such actions involve "calls for the organization of unauthorized public events or create a threat to citizens' life and (or) health, property, threat of mass violations of public order and (or) public safety or a threat of creation of hindrances to the functioning or termination of the functioning of vital infrastructure facilities, transport or social infrastructure, credit organizations, energy, industry, or communication facilities."

In these situations, they lead to an administrative fine in an amount of 50,000 rubles to 100,000 rubles for citizens, 200,000 rubles to 300,000 rubles for officials, and 500,000 rubles to one million rubles for legal entities.

State Duma Information Policy Committee head Alexander Khinshtein earlier said these regulations will affect everyone "who is defending Russia's interests outside it, regardless of whether they wear epaulettes or not," for example, embassies, trade missions or diplomatic missions, missions of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo), the Russian Guard, and the Emergency Situations Ministry.

Khinshtein is a co-author of the amendments, along with the party's General Council Secretary Andrei Turchak and other colleagues: Irina Pankina, Vasily Piskaryov, and Andrei Klishas.