Russia passes law to jail people for 15 days for 'disrespecting' government

Marc Bennetts in Moscow, The Guardian, 6 Mar 2019; via SL

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Law allowing courts to fine or jail offenders is reminiscent of Soviet-era laws used to target dissidents, say critics

Russia’s parliament has approved a controversial law that allows courts to jail people for online “disrespect” of government or state officials, including the president, Vladimir Putin.

The law, which critics say is reminiscent of Soviet-era legislation used to target political dissidents, stipulates fines of up to 100,000 roubles (£1,155) for “indecent” online posts that demonstrate a “blatant disrespect for society, the country, Russia’s official state symbols, the constitution, or the authorities”.

Repeat offenders can be hit with fines of up to twice this sum, or 15 days behind bars.

Alexander Verkhovsky, the head of the Moscow-based Sova Centre, which monitors abuse of anti-extremism legislation, said people could face prosecution for online comments such as “Putin is a bastard”, or jokes about parliament. Others expressed concern that the law was so vaguely worded that almost any online criticism of the authorities, including satirical memes, could be construed as “disrespect”.

“Soon we’ll be telling jokes about the authorities in whispers in the kitchen,” Sergey Shvakin, a Moscow-based lawyer, wrote on Facebook.

The law, which was authored by Andrei Klishas, a senator from Putin’s ruling United Russia party, was criticised by some MPs and government officials. “One of the tasks of government bodies is to calmly hear out criticism of its work,” Alexei Volin, the deputy communications minister, told the Vedomosti newspaper.

“If we stop calling a fool a fool, he won’t stop being a fool,” said Sergei Ivanov, an MP with the nationalist LDPR party, which usually backs the Kremlin on major issues.

Klishas denied the law was a form of censorship and said the authorities were “in and of themselves worthy of respect”. Putin is expected to sign the law into force in the coming weeks.

Parliament also approved separate legislation, likewise authored by Klishin, that will give the authorities powers to block webpages that publish “disrespectful” material or “fake news”. Klishin insisted, however, that the law would not be used to target independent or opposition websites, saying it would not affect “traditional media”.

The laws come after Putin’s trust ratings hit a 13-year low of 33% in the wake of a vastly unpopular move to increase the national retirement age by five years. The results of January’s poll, carried out by the state-backed Public Opinion Research Centre, represented a decline of 37 percentage points from 2015.

Putin is thought to be extremely sensitive to perceived insults. One of his first acts when he came to power in 2000 was to target a satirical television show called Kukly (Puppets) that was broadcast by the NTV television station.

In one episode, aired in January 2000, Putin was depicted as an evil, infant gnome muttering obscenities. Within months, the NTV channel was taken under state control, and jokes about the ex-KGB officer quickly disappeared from Russia’s television screens.