Harsher punishments to be given terrorists in Russia

The Russian State Duma yesterday approved a proposal to increase the prison sentence for terrorists. As Rosbalt reports, the proposal had unanimous support in the Russian parliament.

The change in legislation will mean an 8-12 year sentence for those involved in terrorism (now just 5-10 years) although life sentences could be given in extreme circumstances.

Nonetheless, the approved amendment to Russian legislation was criticized by members of the Communist party. Sergei Reshulsky said that 'suicide bombers will not be put off by such an insignificant increase in the prison sentence.' He said that capital punishment ought to be reconsidered as a form of punishment for the most serious crimes. Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Vladimir Zhirinovsky also spoke in favour of reintroducing capital punishment