Russian opposition fears new law on treason
A new government bill proposes to significantly expand the definition of treason. Critics say that the law is directed against NGOs and the political opposition.
According to Ernst Chyorny, leader of a human rights group in Moscow, the new law could brand even certain conversations with foreign reporters as treason, because this can be seen as “consultative” support to a foreign entity. And that, he says to newspaper International Herald Tribune, could land a violator in prison for as long as 20 years. As with existing law, the legislation would forbid actions considered detrimental to Russian security. But the legislation, if passed, would remove qualifiers that require such actions to be “hostile” and directed against the “external security” of Russia, the newspaper writes. In addition, it would prohibit Russians from passing certain information not only to other countries but also to foreign NGOs. At worst, the new law would be a return to the Soviet-era practice of prosecuting government critics as traitors, the critics argue. Meanwhile, government officials have defended the proposed changes, saying they are needed to clarify and update current laws that have failed to keep pace with the law-dodging ingenuity of modern spies, who, officials say, increasingly work through foreign NGOs.
