The State Duma introduced criminal liability for traveling abroad with access to state secrets
Russians who arbitrarily left the borders of the Russian Federation with access to state secrets will be prosecuted
Russians who have access to state secrets and who left the Russian Federation without permission will be held criminally liable. The corresponding amendment was adopted in the third final reading by deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation.
The amendment in question involves the addition of a new article to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation – “Violation of the requirements for the protection of state secrets.” Under this article, as expected, they will be held accountable for Russians admitted or previously admitted to state secrets, whose right to leave the country is limited.
For a foreign trip not agreed with the authorized bodies, it is proposed to impose a penalty in the form of a fine in the amount of 200 to 500 thousand rubles or in the amount of wages and other income, or imprisonment for up to three years (up to seven years – if the violation is committed by a group persons).
Last month, the newspaper Vedomosti, after talking with several employees of the apparatus of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, announced the tightening of the rules for granting holidays to assistants to deputies, especially those with access to state secrets. They were advised not to leave the country, and in particular not to visit “unfriendly countries”. One of the interlocutors told the publication that at present, when applying for a vacation, an employee of the personnel department is obliged to conduct a conversation with an assistant to a deputy on the topic of the “difficult geopolitical situation” in the world, and also take a handwritten statement from him that a vacation abroad is not planned . Two other sources of the newspaper claim that this is not a ban, but only a recommendation, and assistants to deputies can visit the CSTO countries without restrictions.
