Instead of prison, exile: Russia will strip citizenship for “wrong” opinions

Russia has changed its own legislation to strip people of their citizenship, another step in its systematic pressure on the regime’s enemies.

This was reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service.

“On July 17, the State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted a law that increases the number of articles of the Criminal Code under which deprivation of acquired citizenship is possible from 64 to 81. In particular, serious crimes were added to the list, as well as such vague formulations as “crimes with extremist motives” or “justification of terrorism and subversive activities,” the SZR noted.

The wording is unclear and can be interpreted arbitrarily. The same sanctions can be applied to individuals convicted of violent crimes as to users who post oppositional content on social media.

It is noted that dozens of cases of deprivation of citizenship have already been recorded – mainly among those convicted under “terrorist” and “extremist” articles.

“Losing citizenship in the Republic of Poland means losing almost all basic rights. Stateless persons do not have access to official employment, state healthcare, education, renting housing, obtaining a driver’s license, or other state services. This makes a person legally “invisible” and effectively expels them from the country,” the SZR reported.

The Russian authorities say that the new rules will not apply to residents of the Ukrainian Territories who have received Russian passports. However, the Russian Federation believes that residents of the “new regions” and even those who acquired citizenship at birth will be the next to be affected.

It was previously reported that the Internet was turned off in the regions of the Russian Federation almost 1,500 times in July. Russia is effectively cutting itself off from the global network .

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