The State Duma of the Russian Federation passed a law: “The citizens of the Russian Federation who call a special military operation on the territory of a foreign state a war may be imprisonment for up to 15 years.” 407 of the 450 MPs voted in favour of the law.
The bill came into the State Duma two days ago. It even sees up to 15 years in prison for “fake news” about the activities of the Russian armed forces. These provisions were proposed in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine. The current interpretation of the Russian authorities means that the term “war” falls into the state’s definition of “fake news.”
The parliamentarians have decided that information referred to in the law as “fake news” is subject to penalties: up to three years in prison for preparing and disseminating it, 5 to 10 years if it is disseminated via the Internet or through a group of people. The maximum penalty – 15 years – is to threaten those who disseminate information that they know is false and that the effects of that information are “socially harmful.”
The authorities call the invasion of Ukraine a “military operation” and block the media using the term “war.” As a result, one radio station, one television station and several internet portals have already been closed. Moscow’s independent Radio Ekho was shut down and Dozhd TV was shut down at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office for publishing “misleading information about the actions of Russian troops” in the war against Ukraine. The television station “Dozhd” (“Rain”) and the portal “The Village” were also closed. The anti-Kremlin party Jabłoko, whose headquarters were recently devastated, is under attack.