At the March 14 meeting, the State Duma of Russia adopted in the last and third reading the draft law on criminal liability for those who shadow mercenary fighters and volunteers in the war in Ukraine and spread false information about them. The documents were published in the database of the Duma.
Now those who spread such information about volunteers and mercenaries can be imprisoned for up to seven years.
Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Duma, wrote to the Telegram channel: “Today, everyone who risked his life and ensured the security of the country and its citizens is protected from lies.” According to Volodin, the law provides for a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. The documents in the database of the Duma do not mention this.
Along with other volunteer units, mercenaries of the “Wagner” group are subject to the provisions of the law on discrediting the Russian army, which was adopted last February.
Russian courts recognize any information that contradicts official information about the war as defamation and deliberate disinformation. In particular, it includes information about possible war crimes, attacks on civilian areas and civilian casualties.
