ST. PETERSBURG, May 20 (RAPSI) - Authorized representatives of the government at the Constitutional Court agreed this Tuesday during an open meeting that trafficking of antique weapons must be criminalized,  RAPSI reports from the court.

The agreement followed a request to the Constitutional Court filed by Natalya Uryupina. In 2005, she tried to sell two German cutlasses of the Weimar Republic period she inherited from her father. The court found her guilty of attempted cold steel trafficking. Later, Uryupina was released on pardon but maintained her innocence.

Alexander Salomatkin, the representative of the Federation Council at the Constitutional Court, recalled that under the Constitutional Court Resolution of June 29, 2012, the right to purchase and sell weapons is not absolute and may be restricted by law.

The Russian Ministry of Justice and the Interior Ministry supported the validity of the regulations in question.

Tatyana Vasilyeva, a representative of the Prosecutor General’s Office at the Constitutional Court, noted that the disputed regulation complies with the Russian Constitution despite a number of discrepancies. The law allows for the purchase of antique cold steel and some firearms without registration and license. However, according to the same law, “any weapon without exception may be transferred from one citizen to another only if the purchaser has a license and the weapon has been registered with internal affairs bodies.”

The Ministry of Culture suggested classifying antique weapon as art objects and amending the law by introducing a special procedure for antique weapon trading.