Russia amends law to crack on terrorism

Russia on Friday amended its law in order to crack on terrorist activities in the country and to stringently punish those who finance terrorism or recruit terrorists.

According to Xinhua, the amendments of the Criminal Law were published on Russia's official website of legal information. These were signed by the Russian president Vladimir Putin.

As per the new amendments, suspects convicted of funding terrorism or recruiting terrorists will face eight to 20 years in jail, along with a hefty fine of 300,000 roubles to 700,000 rubles or a life imprisonment, if the charges are more severe.

The amendments also introduced a 'propaganda of terrorism' to the Criminal Law, and the convicted will face five to seven years in prison with a fine of 300,000 roubles to one million roubles.

Before the amendments were made, such criminals will face a prison term of up to ten years.

Earlier, Russian Federal Security Service director Alexander Bortnikov had said that the terrorists from the Middle East were attempting to penetrate Russia and other countries after defeats in Syria and Iraq.

The amendments comes at a time when an explosion rocked a supermarket in St Petersburg on Wednesday, injuring 10 people. The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack.