Russian Duma at first reading endorses lifetime inviolability of former Russian presidents



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The bill, posted on the State Duma website, is one of proposed constitutional amendments approved in a referendum this summer that will give President Vladimir Putin the right to stand in the 2024 presidential elections at the end of his fourth. mandate.

If the bill is passed, the former presidents and their families will enjoy legal immunity and will not be prosecuted or administratively prosecuted for crimes committed throughout their lives. Former heads of state cannot be arrested, interrogated, searched.

Currently, the president cannot be prosecuted solely for crimes committed during his presidency.

The State Duma approved the bill Tuesday in its first of three readings.

The law will be approved when it is approved by the upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, and signed by Putin.

The bill states that the former president can lose his immunity if he is imprisoned for treason or other serious crimes, but those charges will need to be confirmed by the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court.

In that case, waiver of immunity would require the consent of at least two-thirds of the members of both Houses of Parliament.

One of the authors of the bill, Pavel Kraseninikov, told the state news agency RIA Novosti that the new law would not apply to Mikhail Gorbachev, the former president of the Soviet Union.

AFP / Photo by Scanpix / Mikhail Gorbachev

AFP / Photo by Scanpix / Mikhail Gorbachev

While Putin rules the Kremlin, Dmitry Medvedev, who led the country in 2008-2012, is the only surviving president of Russia.

Scanpix / Dmitry Medvedev photo is less and less popular in Russia

Scanpix / Dmitry Medvedev photo is less and less popular in Russia

The State Duma passed another bill at first reading on Tuesday, giving former presidents a seat on the Federation Council until the end of their lives. This mandate also guarantees legal immunity.

The amendments under study have sparked rumors that Putin, 68, plans to resign, but the Kremlin has denied it and assured him that the president is in good health.



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