The mercenaries of the Wagner Group, which have become the spearhead of the Russian offensive against the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, are as important to Moscow as the soldiers that make up the regular Army. To make them equal to the latter, the Duma approved on Tuesday an amendment to the law that will punish anyone found guilty of “discrediting” and deliberately publishing false information about Russian “volunteer” groups fighting with up to 15 years in prison. in Ukraine.
The measure approved by the Lower House of the Russian Parliament is an extension of the laws that Moscow introduced a year ago, shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent the armed forces to Ukraine. These norms have served to repress the voices that have manifested against what the Kremlin calls a “special military operation.”
Under the laws in force since March 2022, “discrediting” the military is punishable in Russia by up to 5 years in prison, while deliberately spreading false information about it can carry a sentence of 15 years in prison. Fines are also contemplated, the maximum of 5 million rubles (62,000 euros).
According to the NGO OVD-Info, Russian prosecutors have so far opened more than 5,800 cases against people who have discredited the armed forces.
Prominent voices critical of the Kremlin have been prosecuted for disseminating false information, such as opposition leader Iliá Yashin, who in December received a sentence of 8.5 years in prison.
Alexander Bastrikin, head of the Investigation Committee of Russia, which reports directly to the Kremlin, told the Tass agency in February that up to that date “152 criminal cases had been initiated, in which 136 people were prosecuted.” He added that “53 criminal cases have been brought before the courts, 16 sentences have already been handed down.”
The head and founder of the Wagner Group, oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, asked parliament in January to ban negative information being published about his men, changing the penal code.
The President of the Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, immediately accepted the idea and then showed his support. “All those who today risk their lives to guarantee the security of the country and its citizens are protected from provocations and lies”, he has now written on his Telegram channel.
This Tuesday Prigozhin, a man considered close to Putin and nicknamed “the Kremlin cook” for his catering company’s contracts with the Russian presidency, welcomed the measure approved by the deputies. The amendment will enter into force after it is approved by the Federation Council (Upper House) and signed by President Putin.
