Russia: the risks of the anti-terrorism law

The so-called "Yarovaya law" was named after the MP who drafted it, Irina Yarovaya, of the United Russia party. To become law, it now needs to be approved by the Federation Council and to be signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, but it seems that this process will be fast and smooth.

If this happens, as early as 20 July, Russian citizens may be required to inform the authorities about everything they know on the preparations of terrorist attacks, armed rebellions, and many other types of crimes. Those who fail to do so will face up to a year in jail.

The legislation also obliges telephony and internet providers to increase the storage time of metadata for contents exchanged online, as well as to collaborate with authorities in the decoding of encrypted messaging services like WhatsApp, Telegram or Viber.

With the "Yarovaya law", a new crime will also be introduced - which implies sentences from 5 to a maximum of 10 years in prison - for those who "organise or encourage people to take part in mass disorders". A rule that will limit any possible protest by the opposition.

It will also prohibit proselytising, preaching, praying, or the spread of religious material outside of "specially designated places", i.e. the places of worship of officially recognised religious institutions.

Many human rights organisations, such as Human Rights Watch , have expressed their criticism regarding this law, denouncing the risks it poses to the individual freedoms of citizens.

Edward Snowden, responsible for the 2013 Datagate on the global surveillance implemented by the US government and who currently resides in Russia, has tweeted that this law is a new "Big Brother" for Russia and "an unworkable and unjustifiable violation of rights that should never be signed". Other tweets continued stating that "Store 6 months of content [of web communications] is not just dangerous, it's impractical; mass surveillance does not work."