War in Ukraine: Russia gives the green light to confiscate money and assets from anyone who criticizes the Army

After a short debate on Wednesday, the upper house of the Russian parliament unanimously approved the bill will allow authorities to confiscate money, valuables and other property to those convicted of spreading “intentionally false information” about the country’s military.

The law, passed equally quickly by the lower house last week, is expected to be signed into law soon by President Vladimir Putin.

The chairman of the Duma, the lower house, Vyacheslav Volodin, said that the measure will increase the punishment for “traitors” who throw mud at our country and our troops” and “would deprive these scoundrels of honorific titles, confiscate their property, money and other valuables.”

Russian authorities used the law against the “discredit” of the Russian army, which includes crimes such as “justifying terrorism” and spreading “fake news” about the armed forces, silence Putin’s critics, When next month There are presidential elections in Russia.

Furthermore, the war in Ukraine, which began at the end of February 2022, has become on a battlefield where both armies are stagnant, eternalizing the conflict, while casualties continue to occur.

Many activists, bloggers and ordinary citizens They were sentenced to long prison terms.

The new confiscation law will apply to those convicted of publicly inciting “extremist activities”, calling for measures that threaten state security or “discrediting” the armed forces.

Discredit the military It is already a criminal offence based on a law adopted as part of the government’s sweeping crackdown on dissent after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

The rule does not affect real estate assets among seized assets, unlike the draconian Soviet legislation which authorized the confiscation of homes.

Ukraine is also moving forward with a controversial law

The Ukrainian parliament approved it this Wednesday in the first reading a controversial bill For simplify military enlistment procedures, after two years of war against Russia, the deputies announced.

A total of 243 deputies voted in favor of the project, according to what several deputies wrote on social networks. To be approved, the document needed a minimum of 226 votes.

The text, however, will still have to be discussed in the Chamber and subjected to a second reading to be definitively adopted.

The procedure could last several weeks and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenki will have to promulgate the document.

A debate on mobilization has been underway in Ukraine for several weeks. The army suffered losses in the war against Russia, however it did not disclose its scope.

But unlike the beginning of the conflict, The army is now looking for volunteers for the front.

The document voted on Wednesday provides for this simplify enrollment procedures in the army and introduce sanctions for the refractory.

However, the sanctions will have to be approved by a court, unlike a first project presented by the government in January.

According to critics, the proposal does not solve the problem of demobilizing those who have been at the front for a long time.

Zelensky said in December that the army had asked him to mobilize up to 500,000 more people.