Epress.am News from Armenia
The State Duma, the lower chamber of the Russian Parliament, has passed a law which increases penalties for child sex offenders after its third and final reading on Tuesday, the Voice of Russia reports.
Among other provisions, the new law abolishes suspended or deferred sentences for child rapists.
The new law also envisages compulsory medical treatment such as chemical castration, as well as 15- to 20-year sentences for sexual crimes against children and a life sentence for repeated offenders or in cases where the victim is a child under the age of 12.
The penalties for those circulating child pornography will also be toughened.