Moscow, Feb 14 (EFE).- Russian President Vladimir Putin promulgated a law that allows the government to confiscate assets of those spreading false news about the army on Wednesday.<\/p>
Under the new law, set to come into force within 10 days, money, securities, and property used to finance activities threatening Russian territorial integrity will be requisitioned.<\/p>
The law has expanded the list of crimes under the Russian Criminal Code that are punishable by confiscation of property, the state-owned Tass news agency reported.<\/p>
Discrediting the army, calling for extremist actions or sanctions on Russia and Russian nationals, and rehabilitating Nazism will be punished with confiscation.<\/p>
The law also penalizes those assisting the implementation of decisions made by foreign government agencies and international organizations of which Russia is not a member, Tass reported. <\/p>
Rights groups have accused Putin of stifling free speech and independent media to silence voices critical of the government in the past.<\/p>
But Presidential press secretary Dmitri Peskov stressed Wednesday that the law will not be applied in the manner of the Soviet era.<\/p>
The new law has nothing in common with the confiscations that were carried out during the Soviet era and such fears were unfounded, Peskov told the media. <\/p>
In recent years, Putin has cracked down on dissent, targeting the country’s independent media and the political opposition with bans and imprisonment. <\/p>
He has further tightened his grip on power in the country in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. EFE <\/p>
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