Putin signed the law on punishment for fakes about participants in the military operation

Russian President Vladimir Putin approved amendments to the Criminal Code, which introduce liability for discrediting participants in a special military operation, including volunteers, as well as for fakes about members of the SVO. About it on Saturday reported press service of the State Duma.

Putin signed the law on March 18, document published on the official portal of legal information. According to the State Duma, the adopted laws extend the rules on liability for publicly discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to volunteer formations, organizations or individuals who assist in the fulfillment of the tasks assigned to the Armed Forces. Public dissemination under the guise of reliable reports of deliberately false information about the participants of the SVO will also be punished.

On March 15, the Federation Council approved a law that introduces criminal liability for discrediting participants in a special operation, as well as for making fake stories about them. Until then, the law accepted in the third reading of the State Duma.

Amendments are made to Art. 207.3 of the Criminal Code (public dissemination of deliberately false information about the use of the Russian Armed Forces) and art. 280.3 of the Criminal Code (public actions aimed at discrediting the Armed Forces). Now criminal liability comes not only for discrediting the military and fakes about them, but also for similar actions against volunteers.

In addition, the term of punishment is increased. For fakes, it is now provided for up to five years in prison instead of three, the maximum punishment under the article remains the same – up to 15 years in prison. The punishment for discrediting is also increased: in the first part of the article from three to five years in prison, in the second – from five to seven years.

Changes are also made to 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Code of Administrative Offenses (public actions aimed at discrediting the Armed Forces). The fine for discrediting volunteers is now up to 50,000 rubles for individuals, up to 200,000 rubles for officials, and up to 500,000 rubles for legal entities.

The authors of the amendments were a group of deputies headed by the speaker of the lower house Vyacheslav Volodin. At the end of January, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of PMC Wagner, asked the Chairman of the State Duma to impose liability for discrediting the participants of the special operation and fakes about them. The entrepreneur said that the whole country “is proud of its defenders, but there are separate media outlets, bloggers and Telegram channels that openly discredit volunteers.”