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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Duma passes sweeping anti-terrorism legislation |
| 2006-02-27 |
| Russia’s lower house of parliament approved Sunday a sweeping new anti-terrorism law defining terms under which the military may shoot down hijacked passenger planes, strike at suspected terrorist targets and intercept communications for security reasons. The law entitled On Counter-terrorist Action was approved in a final reading with 423 votes in favour, one against and eight abstentions. It will be passed to the upper house of parliament and then President Vladimir Putin for final approval — both of which are considered a formality. “This law is very much needed . . . It defines what terrorism is. Without it, it was difficult to carry out the struggle against terrorism by lawful means,” said a deputy with the pro-Kremlin United Russian Party, Nikolai Kovalyov. The head of the Duma lower house’s legislation committee, Pavel Krasheninnikov, described the law as “strict”. “In working out the law we studied the sad experience of terror acts in Madrid, the United States, Beslan and elsewhere,” Krasheninnikov told journalists. The lengthy text approved Sunday sets out a range of procedures for anti-terrorist operations and also covers operations outside Russian territory. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 The sales of weapons to Iran don't go through Duma. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-02-27 18:47 |