“Last year’s tragedy in Egypt was one of the factors behind its adoption,” Litvishko told RIA Novosti, when asked whether the November terrorist act had any impact on the subsequent adoption of the law in July.
According to the official, the amendment of the Russian Criminal Code created the possibility for Russian pre-trial investigation authorities and courts to conduct investigative and other procedural activities, including arrests and other restraint or coercive measures, abroad themselves (not necessarily in the country of the locus delicti) in accordance with the Code.
The Russian A321 plane crashed in the Sinai desert on October 31 while flying from the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg. All 224 people on board died in what has become the largest civil aviation disaster in Russian history. The Russian security services havsaid a terrorist attack was behind the crash.
The package of anti-terror laws signed into force by President Vladimir Putin in July restricts the movement of those suspected in being engaged in terrorism or extremism and lowers the age threshold for terrorism-related crimes to 14 years. The package of laws, among other measures, obliges Russian telecommunications providers to store all users’ data for at least six months. The law comes into force in July 2018.
