Russian President Vladimir Putin has submitted to the Russian Duma, or Parliament, a proposal to deprive Russian citizenship of those who criticize or discredit the Armed Forces and those who engage in NGO activities deemed «undesirable,» among other reasons.
The proposal is an amendment to the Law on Citizenship that provides for stripping citizenship on these grounds and for calling for the violation of the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation, according to the Interfax news agency.
«The president’s amendment concerning NGOs and the other mentioned cases is very significant and absolutely fair,» Vasily Piskarev, chairman of the Duma Security Committee, told Russian media.
For Piskarev «if people who have made a pledge of loyalty to Russia to become a citizen and promise to abide by our rules break them, it is clear that they have voluntarily rescinded the contract with the state that gives them protection and the rights of a Russian citizen and gives the state the right to revoke the decision to grant them citizenship.»
«As of today, the activities of 67 foreign organizations with a presence on Russian territory have been recognized as ‘undesirable,'» Piskarev added.
However, he warned that «there are many more» NGOs that are «actively involved in anti-Russian activities such as incitement to inter-ethnic or inter-religious hatred, interference in elections, involvement in drug use or destructive behavior of teenagers, LGBT propaganda and participation in funding campaigns to finance the adversary.»
International law prohibits depriving a person of his or her nationality or citizenship or declaring him or her stateless.
