
_____________________________
On Friday, a bill introducing life sentences and mandatory chemical castration for paedophiles passed the crucial second reading in the RF Gosduma. The Kremlin introduced the draft bill in October, which generated much debate and amendment before the Friday reading; it tightens punishments for most kinds of sex crimes against minors. The most widely discussed innovation is chemical castration, introduced in Russia for the first time. The bill in its current form only speaks about “mandatory medical treatment” without elaborating, but officials who worked on the draft said it includes both chemical castration and psychiatric drug treatment. Garri Minkh, the Kremlin envoy to the Gosduma, said that mandatory chemical castration would be one possible punishment for molesters who abuse children under 14. Judges would have to consult medical professionals before giving out this punishment, he added.
Convicts in other types of sex crimes involving minors will have the option of voluntarily seeking chemical castration when pleading for parole, the bill said. Dodging “mandatory medical treatment” after release on parole will be punishable with one year in jail. The Gosduma also introduced life in prison as the maximum penalty for gang-raping a minor, currently punishable with four to 10 years behind bars. The bill has to pass one more hearing, and gain approval by the Federation Council, the parliament’s upper chamber, before President Dmitri Medvedev can sign it into law. The date for the third hearing was not set on Friday.
In 2010, Ombudsman for Children Pavel Astakhov said that 98 percent of convicted paedophiles commit new sex crimes upon release, but for those who undergo chemical castration the figure is only 3 percent. He also spoke, prior to the Kremlin bill’s introduction in the Duma, about a “paedophile lobby” stalling legislation on the matter in the parliament, but never named any names. Child abuse skyrocketed in 2010, increasing several times year-on-year for most type of sex crimes, Astakhov said last year. The dismal situation prompted activists to start vigilante groups tracking down paedophiles to report them to police or, in some cases, beat them up without involving law enforcement.
Countries that currently practice chemical castration for child molesters include Australia, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, and South Korea, as well as several US states, most notably Florida and California. However, several human rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, have protested its use over dire health side effects. In the past, the other countries used this method, but it wasn’t limited to sex offenders. Its most famous victim was British scientist Alan Turing, one of the fathers of computer science, who underwent chemical castration for being gay in 1952. He committed suicide two years later.
27 January 2012
RIA-Novosti
http://en.rian.ru/crime/20120127/170993077.html
You must be logged in to post a comment.