Territorial Integrity Breach May Become Punishable by 10 Years in Prison, Russian Lawmaker Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia will amend its criminal code, with a ten-year prison sentence suggested for breaching the territorial integrity of the country, Pavel Krashennikov, the head of the Russian lower house's constitutional legislation committee, said Wednesday.

"Since the constitution now includes a direct ban on alienating any part of the Russian territory or any other actions aiming to breach the territorial integrity, we suggest amending the criminal code by a new article 280.2 'Breaching territorial integrity of the Russian Federation.' A prison sentence between six and ten years is suggested as punishment," Krashennikov said.

Calls for breaching Russia's territorial integrity may be punished by a fine of up to 300,000 rubles ($4,128).

Repeat offence may be punished by up to 400,000 rubles in fines or up to four years in prison.