MOSCOW, February 22 (RIA Novosti) - The lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, passed a counter-terrorism bill in its second reading Wednesday.
The draft got through in a 408-1 vote, with five abstentions.
The bill, providing a regulatory framework for measures to deal with terrorism and its aftermath, empowers Russian secret services to tap telephone conversations and control electronic communications in areas where counter-terrorism operations are carried out.
It also entitles air defense forces to shoot down hijacked planes to prevent attacks on strategic facilities or public places.