Putin signs law to classify transition to enemy side as high treason

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed legislation that classifies switching to the enemy's side during military operations as high treason. The law also introduces criminal liability for cooperation with foreign intelligence services, a new interpretation of the concept of state secrets and punishment for a number of other acts. The document is published on the official Internet portal of legal information.

The law introduces criminal liability:

• For participation in military conflicts for purposes "contrary to the interests" of Russia. "Going over to the enemy's side" will be equated to treason and will be punished by imprisonment from 12 to 20 years.
• For public calls to carry out activities directed against the security of the State. To do this, a new article is introduced into the Criminal Code - 280.4. Under this article, a sentence of two to four years in prison may be threatened.
• For confidential cooperation with foreign intelligence services, for this, you can get from three to eight years in prison.
• For repeated propaganda or demonstration of Nazi or extremist symbols. For this, he will face up to four years in prison. Those who have already been brought to criminal responsibility under a similar article of the Administrative Code (Article 20.3).
• For collecting information about the Russian army. After the amendments are adopted, information that "may harm the army" of Russia in a military conflict falls under the concept of state secrets. Under this article, it will be possible to get from 10 to 20 years in prison.