[ad_1]
© Associated Press
Russian lawmakers yesterday approved a bill guaranteeing judicial immunity for former presidents, a measure that President Vladimir Putin is believed to take advantage of, AFP reported.
The bill was approved on first reading. According to its provisions, if a person has served as President of Russia, he cannot be subject to judicial or administrative prosecution, nor can he be detained, searched or interrogated.
This immunity will also be granted to the family of each former Russian president and will also apply to the property, means of transportation and communications of the former heads of state, as well as to the documents that belong to them and their luggage.
The text was proposed by a senator and a deputy who are members of the ruling United Russia party.
Immunity can only be lifted if the former president is charged with treason or another serious crime and if those charges are confirmed by the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court and confirmed by two-thirds of the deputies of the State Duma and the same number of senators in the Federation Council.
The provisions of the bill do not apply to former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, said one of its authors, Pavel Krashennikov.
The legislative initiative sparked rumors in Russia of a possible resignation of Vladimir Putin, but the Kremlin rejected it, saying the 68-year-old leader was in good health.
There is currently only one former Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, who ruled the country from 2008 to 2012, a period during which Putin served as prime minister due to the limit on the number of consecutive presidential terms.
After Putin returned to the presidency, Medvedev became its prime minister and leader of United Russia. He resigned this January and was appointed vice president of the Putin-led Russian Security Council.
In recent years, Medvedev has been the subject of several anti-corruption investigations by opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who regularly accuses him of taking bribes from oligarchs and leading a property empire.
In addition, two deputies and a senator from the state Duma presented a bill to implement amendments to the constitution, which gives current President Putin the right to run again for the post of head of state, TASS reported.
The bill also contains additional requirements for the candidate for the highest state post: be a citizen of Russia, not under the age of 35, have lived in Russia for at least 25 years, have no or have not prior citizenship of a country Foreign.
