Russia passes law banning the dissemination of ‘false information’ to government agencies abroad

Russian lawmakers today approved a bill criminalizing “false information” referring to all Russian government agencies operating abroad, adopting a new crackdown on Russian intelligence controlling the attack on Ukraine.

The law, passed in third reading, complements a law passed in early March that provides for up to 15 years in prison for publishing “false information” about the Russian military.

According to a statement from the Russian parliament, the text of the law penalizes “the dissemination of false information made knowingly and publicly under the guise of reliable information” about the “activities of Russian state bodies outside Russian territory”.

The law provides for three years ‘imprisonment, but if the violation was motivated by selfish motives, political, ideological, racist or by motives of national or religious hatred and enmity, the sentence is up to 10 years’ imprisonment, while disseminating “false information” brings serious consequences the sentence can reach 10-15 years of imprisonment.

Russia has banned several local and foreign media outlets, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, since launching the offensive in Ukraine on February 24, and yesterday described Meta platforms as “extremist.”

So far, at least three people have been affected by the law for posting anti-conflict messages online in Ukraine.

SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ

Source: Capital

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