New Russian anti-terrorist law sparks sharp criticism
By Robert Hackwill



MOSCOW: -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law an anti-terrorist bill that has been fiercely criticised both at home and abroad for offering huge powers to the security services and administration.

The Russian opposition, some businesses, human rights organisations, mobile phone operators and internet providers add the law is far too vague and open to abuse.

Other critics say it smacks of a return to darker times.

“There are certain articles in this law that take us directly back to the laws of Stalin, notably the lowering of the age of penal responsibility to 14. Under Stalin you could face a firing squad aged 12. How can you punish people this age? We should be saving them from punishment,” says Historian and Journalist Nikolai Svanidze.

Supporters of the legislation insist it is an appropriate Russian law for Russian people and will crack down on incitements to violence and fascism.

“This law reinforces the feeling of fear and goes in absolutely the opposite direction from reinforcing civil activity. So either we foster civil society or we foster fear, which weakens civil activity and citizens are steered away from citizenship. This law has no relevance to terrorism and the fight against it, unfortunately!” adds Svanidze.

One provision is that phone companies store all information for up to three years, and they complain the cost of this will be very expensive and could force some to the wall.

-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-07-08

What the hell, the Russians are used to living under the likes of Ivan the Terrible and Stalin. Let them be. The world was a better place when they were behind their Iron Curtain. I wish Putin would put them behind a new one.

Sum Num Na, the Russians love this psycho so let them live with what they asked for.

Sum Num Na, the Russians love this psycho so let them live with what they asked for.

Except those laws are meant to target precisely the minority that doesn't love him

Do these critics of the New Russian anti-terrorist law have a better solution...please step forward and give us your best shot!

Sum Num Na, the Russians love this psycho so let them live with what they asked for.

Yes they seem to like him. They admire he seems to represent manly Russian values.

Well they can always vote him out the next time eh? But it would seem the majority love him, So why are people moaning and complaining.

Personally he has his faults but at least he seems patriotic even though corrupt to the core and hates the west. He does seem to have some more backbone than western leaders..

He just signed it, law itself was prepared by other uneducated people. I hope this law package would be reconsidered, as at the moment it can't be executed properly on the tech side.