MOSCOW. Nov 24 (Interfax) - A new bill punishing 'telephone terrorism' with a prison term of between three and ten years has been introduced in the State Duma, Pavel Krasheninnikov, head of the Duma Committee on State Building and Legislation, told reporters.
Under the new proposals, knowingly false reports of a planned explosion, arson or other acts creating the risk of people being killed, causing significant damage to social infrastructure would be punished by a jail term of three to five years.
If the purpose of such a report was to destabilize the work of government authorities, the penalty is six to eight years of imprisonment.
If it has led to a death or other grave consequences, the perpetrator would face eight to ten years in prison, Krasheninnikov said.
The bill was authored by Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, Krasheninnikov, and the head of the security committee, Vasily Piskaryov.