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Russian parliament to consider presidential bill liberalizing Criminal Code

12 January 2011 04:39 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The lower house of the Russian parliament will on Wednesday consider in the first reading a presidential bill that would reduce punishments for minor offenses, APA reports quoting RIA Novosti.
President Dmitry Medvedev submitted the bill introducing changes to Russia’s Criminal Code in late November last year.
The amendments would give judges more leeway in their decisions and allow them to fine those guilty of minor crimes, rather than jailing them or sentencing them to community work.
"The changes would not affect Article 105 of the Criminal Code regulating punishments for killing, as well as crimes against human freedom, honor and decency, against minors, population health, public morality, and certainly against the foundations of the constitutional order and state security," Vladimir Gruzdev, the first deputy head of the State Duma committee on legislation, told RIA Novosti.
In his last year’s address to the Federal Assembly, the president called for a wider use of fines as punishment for crimes not related to violence. He also said that judges should not perceive the maximum possible punishment for crimes as the only option.
On January 1, a law prohibiting the imprisonment of those suspected in tax evasion came into force in Russia.
In April, Medvedev signed into law amendments to legislation on economic crimes intended to increase the use of bail for suspects awaiting trial and halt the abuse of the system, where officials attempt to pressure suspects by keeping them in pretrial detention for extended periods. As a result, the number of arrests in Russia decreased by 20 percent in the first half of 2010.
Medvedev, who portrays himself as a young and technologically savvy leader, is seeking to improve the economic environment in the country and create incentives for domestic businesses to switch to a knowledge-based and innovative economy.