Critics say new Russia treason law is 'broad' and 'dangerous'

In this Sunday, Jan. 21, 2007 pool file photo German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin speak during their meeting in Putin's residence in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi. (AP/Presidential Press Service)

MOSCOW – A new law expanding Russia's definition of treason took effect Wednesday despite President Vladimir Putin's promise to review it — and critics say it's so vague the government can now brand any dissenter a traitor.

Under it, anyone possessing information deemed secret — whether a politician, a journalist, an environmentalist or a union leader — could potentially be jailed for up to 20 years for espionage.

Human rights advocates say the law is part of a widening crackdown on the opposition after Putin began his third presidential term in May.

While the previous law describes high treason as espionage or other assistance to a foreign state damaging Russia's external security, the new legislation expands the definition by dropping the word "external." Activities that fall under it include getting financial help or advice from a foreign state or giving information to an international or foreign organization.

The law, which was drafted by the Federal Security Service, the main KGB successor agency known under its Russian acronym of FSB, also introduced a punishment for up to eight years for simply getting hold of state secrets illegally even if they aren't passed to foreign hands.

The FSB explained in a statement run by the ITAR-Tass news agency that the new clause better protects confidential information.

It said the previous law, which dated back to the 1960s, failed to provide an efficient deterrence against foreign spies.

"Tactics and methods of foreign special services have changed, becoming more subtle and disguised as legitimate actions," the spy agency said. "Claims about a possible twist of spy mania in connection with the law's passage are ungrounded and based exclusively on emotions."

Tamara Morshchakova, a former Constitutional Court judge, told a presidential rights council meeting Monday that the new law is so broad the FSB no longer needs to provide proof that a suspect inflicted actual damage to the nation's security.

"Their goal was simple: We have few traitors, it's difficult to prove their guilt, so it's necessary to expand it," Morshchakova said. "Now they don't have to prove it any more. An opinion of law enforcement agencies would suffice."

Putin, who chaired the meeting, promised to take another look at the treason bill to prevent it from being excessively broad, but it became law despite his pledge.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday, in comments carried by Russian news agencies, that Putin's statement indicated his readiness to review the treason law if its implementation reveals "some problems or aspects restricting rights and freedoms."

The revised treason bill first came up in 2008, under then-President Dmitry Medvedev, who quickly shelved the bill after an outburst of public criticism.

Putin, a KGB veteran, has clamped down on his critics following a series of major street protests against his re-election, which he said were staged by Washington in order to weaken Russia. The Kremlin-controlled parliament quickly stamped a series of repressive bills and opposition activists have faced numerous searches and arrests.

One of the laws passed this summer required non-governmental organizations in Russia that receive foreign funding and engage in political activity to register as "foreign agents," which aims to destroy their credibility among Russians. One such group is Golos, Russia's only independent vote monitor, which collected evidence of massive violations in recent elections.

And in October, Moscow ended the U.S. Agency for International Development's two decades of work in Russia, saying the agency was using its money to influence Russian elections — a claim the U.S. denied.