Putin Signed Amendments to Law on Countering Extremist Activities

According to a report published by Ria.ru in Moscow on December 26, 2012, Russian President Putin signed on December 25 the Federal Law on Amendments to Article 20.3 of the Russian Federation Code of Administrative Offences and Article 1 of the Federal Law on Countering Extremist Activities in a bid to intensify punishment over extremist and Nazi activities.

The law on amendments stipulated intensified punishment over extremist and Nazi propaganda and public demonstrations. According to the law, an ordinary citizen in violation of the law would be sentenced to a fine of 1, 000 to 2, 000 rubles, a public servant would be sentenced to a fine of 1, 000 to 4, 000 rubles, while a legal professional would be fined from 10, 000 to 50, 000 rubles. The new ceiling limit of fine is 50 times as much as the previous level.

The law also clearly defined the legal background of extremist organizations, which refer to those organizations that have been legally registered and was outlawed or forbidden from holding activities for their engagement in extremist activities.