People will be jailed for importing pathogens into Russia
The State Duma of the Russian Federation today unanimously adopted in the first reading a bill that provides for criminal liability for smuggling and violation of safety rules when handling pathogens.
This initiative was developed by the inter-factional working group of the State Duma on biological safety issues following the work of the parliamentary commission to investigate the activities of American biological laboratories in Ukraine, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“We understand that the activities being carried out by the United States today are not of a humanitarian nature. Therefore, the decisions that we are making today are aimed at stopping illegal activities, if any, are committed, as well as preventing its commission and ensuring the inevitability of punishment, understanding that today the rules for handling pathogens, viruses, and biological substances are among the most scrupulous and demanding from the point of view of protecting the life and safety of the citizens of our country,” Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Irina Yarovaya, who headed the commission, told reporters in parliament.
According to her, 16 thousand different samples were exported to the United States from Ukraine alone.
The bill proposes to establish criminal liability for a term of up to 12 years in prison for transporting pathogenic biological organisms into the territory of Russia - viruses, toxins, bioagents obtained as a result of various genetic manipulations and biosynthesis.
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