The State Duma of Russia adopted the law on life sentences for treason in the third and final reading. Currently, this criminal article provides for punishment from 12 to 20 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to 500 thousand rubles. The number of verdicts in such cases increased after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The law also strengthens criminal liability under articles on sabotage and terrorism and establishes penalties for facilitating the implementation of decisions of international organizations in which Russia does not participate.
Deputies propose to increase the maximum term for committing terrorist attacks to 20 years instead of the maximum 15 years under the current legislation. In the article on facilitating terrorist activity, it is proposed to increase the minimum threshold from five to seven years of imprisonment, and to increase the minimum sentence for assisting terrorism from 10 to 12 years. The punishment for participating in a terrorist community is also being strengthened. Now, according to this article, he can face from 10 to 15 years of imprisonment.
The punishment under the criminal article on sabotage is being strengthened. Currently, actions aimed at damaging transport infrastructure facilities and livelihoods of the population may be punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The law also introduces a new criminal article on "assistance in the implementation of decisions of international organizations in which the Russian Federation does not participate, or of foreign state bodies on the criminal prosecution of officials of public authorities of the Russian Federation." Punishment by it involves imprisonment for up to five years or a fine from 300,000 to one million rubles.
In 2022, Russian courts handed down 11 sentences under the article on treason, OVD-Info calculated. Several of them are connected with accusations of working for the Ukrainian special services.
In the period 1997-2021, 117 people were charged with treason. Among them is Ihor Lukin, a military man from the Primorsky Krai, who was sentenced in 2004 to ten years in prison on charges of attempted treason in favor of China.