Russian Children’s Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov on Tuesday hailed the adoption by the lower house of parliament of a bill stipulating tougher penalties for pedophiles, including chemical castration.
“The adopted presidential draft law is of course a breakthrough… but it could be improved,” Astakhov was cited by his press service as saying.
A bill toughening penalties for pedophiles, including life sentences and chemical castration, passed the third and final reading in the State Duma on Tuesday.
Under the draft law, which was proposed by the Kremlin in October and has generated much debate and revision, child sexual abusers are not eligible for parole and repeat offenders will face life sentences.
The bill has yet to be approved by the upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, before it is signed into law by the president.
Chemical castration of pedophiles is used in several countries such as Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Denmark, Israel, Norway, Sweden, Poland, as well as in some U.S. states.
Some politicians and advocacy groups claim that liberal laws and lenient courts enable too many offenders to escape punishment or to return to molesting children after serving only brief prison sentences.
Astakhov said in 2010 that 98 percent of convicted pedophiles commit new sex crimes upon release but for those who undergo chemical castration the figure is only 3 percent.
