Putin signs law streamlining prosecution of so-called ‘foreign agents’

Vladimir Putin has signed a law that permits the prosecution of so-called “foreign agents” if they fail even once to declare their status, as is mandatory for anybody given the legal classification, according to a post made on the Russian government’s official portal on Wednesday.

Prior to the new legislation, a “foreign agent” would have to be fined twice in one year for failing to declare their status on a publication or social media post before criminal charges could be pressed.

The “foreign agent” status handed out by the Russian authorities to a wide range of public figures and private individuals bans them from certain activities and requires them to declare their status on every post they make online. Those who fail to publicise their status can be criminally prosecuted, with the most severe punishment being a two-year prison sentence.

Russia’s Justice Ministry can unilaterally declare somebody a “foreign agent”, even if the individual in question has never received foreign funding. Being deemed to have fallen “under foreign influence” is enough, a vague term with no clear legal definition.

The explanatory notes accompanying the legislation said the previous procedure for bringing potential criminals to justice did not “fully guarantee security”. There are currently almost 1,000 organisations and individuals who have been branded foreign agents by Russia’s Justice Ministry since the status was created in 2012.