Russia’s State Duma lower parliament house on Wednesday passed in the third and final reading a bill imposing a ban on leaders and members of organizations recognized as extremist and terrorist in Russia and people related to such organizations to be elected to elective positions.
Under the bill, leaders and founders of extremist or terrorist organizations will be banned from running for elective posts for a period of 5 years after a court ruling on the ban or termination of their organizations. Employees of such organizations and people recognized by a court as related to their activities will face a three-year ban.
In the first reading, the bill was applicable only to elections to the State Duma. Additionally, it was supplemented with criteria to determine a person’s involvement in the activities of organizations deemed as extremist or terrorist. The bill describes involvement as direct implementation of the goals and formats of activities that were used as grounds to recognize the organization as extremist or terrorist. People who express support to such organizations' goals and formats, as well as their particular actions will also be deemed as related to such organizations. Support may be expressed both orally and online. While a decision on a person’s involvement in the activities of such organizations is taken by a court, no court ruling is needed in respect of founders and leaders of such organizations and their deputies.
The three-year ban may be applicable to those who expressed support to an organization one year before a court ruling on the recognition of it as extremist. Leaders of such organizations will face a five-year ban if they occupied leading positions in such organizations three years before a corresponding court ruling.
