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The head of state vetoed the Federal Law “On Amendments to Article 4 of the Russian Federation Law ‘On the Media’ and Article 15 of the Federal Law ‘On Terrorism’” adopted by the State Duma on November 1, 2002 and approved by the Federation Council on November 13, 2002, and submitted to the President for signing and publishing.

Mr Putin said the amendments to the Federal Law do not fully correspond to the situation in fighting terrorism and fail to solve problems of providing safety to citizens during counter-terrorist operations. The amendments do not specify the responsibilities of the media and their representatives in covering counter-terrorist operations, as well as restrictions stipulated by the law. The penalties for breaking the restrictions had not been defined either.

Therefore, the adoption of the Federal Law would not help fighting terrorism and could create conditions for unjustified restrictions on citizens’ rights and access to information, Putin said.

Additional regulations of the activities of the media in emergency situations, in a state of martial law and covering emergencies following natural and man-made disasters need be defined.

Considering the above-mentioned circumstances, the head of state suggested the Federal Law be further clarified and considered as a matter of priority.