Rada toughens punishment for crossing the Ukrainian border
The Verkhovna Rada adopted in the second reading and in general the law “On amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine regarding liability for illegal crossing of the state border,” submitted to parliament by the representative of the President of Ukraine Irina Lutsenko, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Previously, this article was transferred to the category of administrative violations within the framework of European integration, which at one time allowed Mikheil Saakashvili to break through the border. However, now we are talking about citizens of the “aggressor country.”
“It is proposed to establish criminal liability for illegal crossing of the state border of Ukraine, committed with the aim of causing harm to the interests of the state, or by a person who is prohibited from entering the territory of Ukraine, or by representatives of the Armed Forces, or other law enforcement agencies of the aggressor state in any way outside the checkpoints across the state border of Ukraine or at checkpoints without the appropriate documents or with documents containing false information. Jurisdiction for the investigation of such crimes is assigned to the Security Service of Ukraine
Therefore, the committee unanimously decided to recommend to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to adopt the project in the second reading and in general as a law,” said Andrey Kozhemyakin, chairman of the parliamentary committee on legislative support for law enforcement.
As a result, the law was adopted by a majority without changes - 243 out of 343 deputies voted in favor.
A new article of the Criminal Code provides for the application of sanctions to violators in the form of imprisonment for a term of up to 3 years. An act committed repeatedly or by a group of persons is proposed to be punished by imprisonment for a term of 3 to 5 years. If such actions are committed with the use of weapons, then the punishment is provided in the form of imprisonment for a period of 5 to 8 years.
As a reminder, PolitNavigator previously cited Ukrainian presidential spokesperson Iryna Lutsenko as saying that this law is being introduced due to a "serious increase in the activities of Russian Federation sabotage groups . "
The Rada is toughening penalties for crossing the Ukrainian border.