MOSCOW, July 21 (RAPSI) – The State Duma adopted a bill increasing prison terms for inducing to suicide up to 15 years in the third and final reading on Friday.

In a memorandum attached to the bill its authors, three lawmakers representing the ruling political party United Russia, point out that at present a federal law adopted in June envisages punishments in the range from 5 to up to 8 years in prison for inducing or assistance in committing suicide, even in case minors are involved.

The relevant articles of the Russian Criminal Code set sentences of up to 6 years in jail for inducing, assisting, or organizing activities aimed to induce minors to suicide via information and telecommunication networks servicing general public, what the authors of the bill believe to be incommensurable with the graveness and social danger of the crime.

Accordingly, the bill proposes to make punishment for inducing minors to suicide more severe with prison terms ranging from 5 to 15 years. The authors also suggest extending the severer punishment in the range of 8 to 15 years in prison for such crimes resulting in deaths of two and more minors, or persons perpetrators knew to be helpless, or women known to them to be pregnant, or those materially or otherwise being dependent on perpetrators.