The State Duma has passed amendments that allow for faster initiation of criminal cases against “foreign agents.”

The State Duma has passed a bill in its second and third readings that will allow law enforcement agencies to initiate criminal cases more quickly against people listed as “foreign agents,” reports DumaTV.

The bill makes it possible to open a criminal case for evasion of “foreign agent” duties (parts 1 and 2 of Article 330.1 of the Criminal Code) after just one instance of administrative prosecution under the “foreign agent” article (Article 19.34 of the Code of Administrative Offences). At present, criminal proceedings can only be initiated if a person has been prosecuted twice within a year.

For the second reading, an additional amendment was included: a “foreign agent” may now be accused of evasion without any administrative prosecution if they already have a criminal record under Article 330.1 of the Criminal Code.

Commenting on the amendments, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said that by tightening the “foreign agent” legislation deputies are “protecting the interests of our citizens and ensuring the security of the state.”

In recent years the Russian authorities have routinely imposed new restrictions and sanctions on those declared “foreign agents.” This spring, they were completely banned from engaging in educational and outreach activities (previously, this restriction only applied to work with minors).