Putin signs law allowing Russian armed forces to protect Russian citizens abroad

Moscow (ANTARA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law permitting the Russian armed forces to protect Russian citizens who have been sentenced or detained by foreign or international courts, according to a document published on the legal portal on Monday (25 May). The document states that the Russian armed forces may, within their authority, be deployed to protect Russian citizens who have been arrested, detained, or prosecuted based on decisions by foreign courts acting on behalf of other countries without Russian participation, and whose jurisdiction is not based on international agreements involving Russia or United Nations Security Council resolutions. The law is expected to take effect ten days after official publication. Previously, State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin stated that the law is necessary to protect Russian citizens as ‘Western justice has become a repressive machine for punishing those who disagree with decisions imposed by European bureaucrats’.