The State Duma of Russia has adopted a law that allows the seizure of assets belonging to Russian citizens abroad who criticize the regime in Moscow. The new measure allows for the immediate blocking of assets of any value upon the drafting of the minutes and aims to block the sources of income in the country by those who criticize the authorities, reports IPN.
The law targets offenses such as discrediting the Russian army, violating the restrictive framework for those considered foreign agents, or comparing the USSR with Nazi Germany. Therefore, the decision taken transforms the seizure into a form of preventive influence against opinion leaders and activists operating from outside the borders.
The initiative was promoted by the Speaker of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, and targets a group estimated between 300 thousand and one million citizens who have left Russia. The authorities invoke the need for a preventive measure in the case of those who continue to earn income from Russia while criticizing the regime from abroad.
