MOSCOW, KOMPAS.com – Federal Assembly Russia, The Duma, supports the bill (RUU) that will grant immunity to the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
If the regulation is passed, any legal remedies will not be able to ensnare him Putin and his family after the Russian number one stepped down from power.
The bill is part of the amendments to the Russian constitution which were approved in a referendum last July. The majority of seats in the Federal Assembly and the Council of the Russian Federation are occupied by Putin’s supporters.
Also read: Putin’s way to get immune from the law is smoother
Putin’s fourth presidency will end in 2024. However, constitutional amendments allow him to re-run and become president for at least two more terms.
Currently Putin is 68 years old. It is not yet clear who he will give the leadership baton to.
This proposed immunity right continues speculation about Putin’s political future. Since 2000 he has led Russia, been a patron, and has had tremendous influence.
“Why does Putin need a law that grants him immunity now?” said one of Putin’s biggest critics, Alexei Navalny, on Twitter.
Navalny also asked, “Can dictators step down of their own free will?”
The bill still has to go through two further forums in the Duma, before being forwarded to the Federation Council (upper house) and being signed by Putin.
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With the right to immunity, the former president and his family cannot be searched and interrogated by the police. Their assets will be immune from confiscation.
They will not be prosecuted for crimes committed in their lifetime, except on charges of treason or other serious crimes under extraordinary circumstances.
Currently the only surviving former Russian president is Putin’s ally, Dmitry Medvedev.
Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev would not have had such immunity, because he was not the president of Russia.
Also read: The Kremlin denies rumors that Putin will step down because of Parkinson’s
A member of parliament from the United Russia Party and one of the initiators of the bill, Pavel Krasheninnikov, said the right to immunity was aimed at providing “guarantees of the stability of the state and society” to the president.
The majority of Russian voters supported constitutional reforms last July that saw Vladimir Putin as president until 2036.
The reform will put Putin’s term as president back to zero in 2024, so that he will be able to run for president again for two terms until 2036.
The opposition has accused Putin of trying to become “president for life”, which Putin later denies.
Also read: It is rumored that Putin wants to step down as president of Russia due to Parkinson’s disease
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