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World Jewish News
Zhirinovsky suggested the repeal of the Criminal Code article for inciting hatred
04.03.2009
On March 3, 2009, Vladimir Zhirinovsky introduced a bill to the Duma "On Amendments to the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation."
The Article 282 of the Criminal Code provides for punishment of public actions aimed at inciting hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity on the grounds of gender, race, nationality, language, origin, attitude to religion. For violation of this article, a fine of 100 to 300 000 rubles is prescribed, or imprisonment for up to five years.
As mentioned in a memo to the Act, "the defining characteristics in the article are rather vague. For example, is it punishable to publicly berate thieves and bandits, indicating their race, nationality or origin?" The greatest difficulties arise in the delineation of the essential elements of the offense. The article is not applicable to the media: if the program is prepared by a team of workers, who should be held criminally liable?
Zhirinovsky believes that Article 282 of the Criminal Code is absurd. In his view, in accordance with this article, even telling "ethnic" jokes about Natives, Jews, Gypsies and Russians can be a crime. Besides, "people can be genuinely outraged at humiliation of dignity of another citizen on the grounds of gender, race or nationality, but this does not prove that the act was really aimed at achieving a similar effect, in the meantime someone may incur criminal penalties."
"The purpose of the bill is to remove the uncertainty of legal rules of Article 282 by deleting it from the Criminal Code, as the nature of the crime must be determined according to the result, not the purpose," points out Vladimir Zhirinovsky.
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