Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law establishing criminal liability for discrediting any participant in a special military operation (SVO), including volunteers.
The corresponding document was published on the official Internet legal information portal on Saturday.
The amendments toughen the penalty for discrediting the use of Russian armed forces abroad (Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Previously, the maximum penalty was five years in prison. The amendments not only introduce responsibility for discrediting volunteers, but also increase the penalty threshold throughout the article, increasing penalties to seven years in prison for such acts.
Changes are also made to the article regulating liability for forgery relating to the RF Armed Forces (Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), extending the penalty for such acts to volunteer formations as well. The maximum penalty under this article is 15 years in prison.
Earlier, the Federation Council approved a criminal liability law for discrediting all SVO participants, including volunteers. 162 senators voted for the adoption of the law, only one opposed it.
Recall that in January, the founder of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, addressed the Chairman of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, with a request to draw up the introduction of an article in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation prohibiting the discrediting of volunteers participating in a special military operation.
Putin signed a law punishing up to 15 years in prison for discrediting any OSV member
