Sergei Bakeshin has provided his comments to Fontanka.ru on a bill that tightens the liability for violation of Russian lockdown rules

State Duma Speaker, Vyacheslav Volodin, and United Russia MP, Pavel Krasheninnikov, have prepared and submitted to the Russian State Duma a bill that introduces administrative and criminal liability for violating the quarantine regime and other lockdown rules. The amendments introduce fines ranging from 500 thousand to 1 million roubles or imprisonment for up to 3 years for actions that, through negligence, result in mass illnesses. In the event of the deliberate creation of a threat of a mass illness or violation, which, through negligence, resulted in the death of a person, fines ranging from 1 million to 2 million roubles are introduced or deprivation of the right to a profession for up to 5 years, or imprisonment for up to 5 years, and in case of death of two or more persons – imprisonment for up to 7 years.

“It is extremely difficult to prove a causal relationship between the actions of an individual (for example, having violated quarantine) and a mass illness”, Sergei Bakeshin, Senior Associate at Maxima Legal, explained to Fontanta.ru. It will be even more difficult, he said, to prove that death occurred precisely as a result of a violation of rules, and not from any chronic diseases, heart attack, or due to poor treatment. “Including, therefore, law enforcement agencies in identifying violations of sanitary rules by certain organisations (involved in the production, storage, transportation or marketing of goods and products, performance of work or the provision of services that do not meet safety requirements) under Article 238 of the Criminal Code”. However, Sergei did not rule out that the administrative responsibility proposed by the amendments “will be able to quickly begin to apply to all self-insulated people who leave their flats to take out rubbish” while “criminal liability will most likely remain a scarecrow.”

Sergei Bakeshin also mentioned that along with the article on the violation of lockdown rules in the Criminal Code another section exists: concealing information about circumstances that create a danger to the life or health of people, which includes punishment of up to 5 years’ imprisonment. “A more active application of this norm could help to improve the lockdown rules and psychological situation in our society”, Sergei concluded.

To read the article (in Russian), please see the Fontanka website >>>