A third category of violators will be added to the law on foreign agents

Deputy Minister of Justice of Russia Oleg Sviridenko said that they plan to add the category of “third parties” to the law on foreign agents. It will include those who “willy-nilly” exert a certain influence and help foreign agents to violate the law that controls them, but at the same time they are not themselves a foreign agent or an affiliate, Mr. Sviridenko said at the XI St. Petersburg International Legal Forum.

The deputy head of the Ministry of Justice said that legislative activity in the field of control over foreign agents continues. The initiative to introduce the category of “third parties” has already been approved by the State Duma committee, he said.

“We hope that the Ministry of Justice will have this tool, and we will maybe have some channels that will show well-known foreign agents, maybe someone will violate traditional values, warn for a while, after which a fine will follow,” he said. Mr. Sviridenko (TASS quote).

On April 26, a group of deputies from the Duma Commission on Combating Foreign Interference, headed by its chairman Vasily Piskarev (United Russia), submitted a package of amendments to the State Duma regarding the activities of foreign agents. In particular, the deputies proposed to introduce control over citizens and organizations that assist foreign agents in circumventing the prohibitions provided for by law. The deputies also proposed to allow only those foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have officially registered their Russian divisions with the Ministry of Justice to work in the Russian Federation.

More details – in the material “Kommersant” “Talents and accomplices.”

Erdni Kagaltynov