The State Duma approved in a first reading Friday a presidential bill that would toughen punishment for crimes committed by police officers, even as President Dmitry Medvedev asked deputies to expand the legislation to include all law enforcement officials.
A Constitutional Court expert said earlier in the week that the bill discriminated against the police by singling them out.
There is "a point in boosting responsibility not only for police but for all other people whose duty is to protect law," Medvedev told reporters Friday, according to a transcript on the Kremlin's web site.
The bill, which is posted on the Duma's web site, increases the maximum prison terms for various crimes committed by police officers and introduces a prison term of up to six months for police officers who fail to fulfill orders from superiors.
A senior Duma deputy said the bill would be expanded to include tough penalties for all law enforcement officials. It will also add “a very detailed elaboration” on which violated police orders could result in prison terms to prevent superiors from abusing their subordinates, Mikhail Grishankov, the first deputy chairman of the Duma’s Security Committee and a member of United Russia, told The Moscow Times.
Deputies from United Russia and the Liberal Democratic Party backed the bill Friday, while those from the Communist Party and A Just Russia voted against it, the Duma's web site said.
The 450-seat Duma is dominated by the pro-Kremlin United Russia party.
A date for the second reading has not been set.
A Constitutional Court expert earlier criticized the bill of discriminating against police, breaking the Constitution's "principle of equality and justice," Vedomosti reported.
The court expert was stating his personal opinion and it therefore was not binding, court spokeswoman Yulia Andreyeva said by telephone.
Andreyeva identified the expert as Oleg Vagin and said he did not wish to speak to the media.
Under the law, the Constitutional Court has no right to edit bills.
Interior Ministry spokesman Oleg Yelnikov refused to comment on the bill.
The police force faces a Medvedev-ordered reform after a series of scandals involving corruption and violence. Medvedev ordered Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev to submit proposals to the Kremlin by the end of March on how to reform the police force. It remains unclear whether Nurgaliyev has complied with Medvedev's order.