Duma approves bill to toughen punishment for torture

The State Duma in the first reading approved the draft law on tougher punishment for torture

The document increases the prison term for torture from seven to 12 years, law enforcement officers can fall under the article. He was introduced to the Duma after the publication of a series of videos of torture in the colonies. The project was criticized by human rights activists

The deputies of the State Duma adopted in the first reading a bill that toughens liability for torture, should from the database of the lower house of parliament.

The document, in particular, proposes to increase the punishment for torture organized or carried out by government officials to force them to testify or intimidate them – those who commit them can be sentenced to imprisonment for up to 12 years (according to current legislation – up to seven years). The project transfers these acts to the category of especially serious crimes, which increases the statute of limitations for them up to 15 years.

The bill also provides a clearer definition of torture, in line with the wording of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted by a resolution of the UN General Assembly in 1984.

In addition to this, Art. 302 of the Criminal Code (compulsion to testify) will introduce a new subject of the crime – a law enforcement officer, which will make it possible to prosecute employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service for torture. Under current laws, investigators or people who conduct inquiries are held accountable for torture.