The State Duma commented on the ECHR ruling on the St. George's ribbon in Ukraine

The rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the St. George's ribbon in Ukraine are beyond common sense. This was stated by the first deputy chairman of the State Duma's culture committee, Aleksandr Sholokhov, on Friday, 13 December, commenting on the ECHR ruling, which recognized that the ban on wearing the St. George's ribbon is within the state's discretion.

According to the MP, the European Court of Human Rights and the International Criminal Court are simply working off the order.

"What is called, who pays the money, the one who dances. In my opinion, no normal thinking person can not fail to realize the senselessness of their activities," - said the MP in a conversation with Lenta.Ru.

Earlier, the ECHR said that the ban on wearing the St. George ribbon in Ukraine was a violation of freedom of expression. At the same time, the ECHR said that this issue is at the discretion of the state, RT reports.

Since June 2017, the St. George ribbon has been officially banned in Ukraine as well.

On December 29, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law according to which public desecration of St. George ribbons will be punishable by a fine or imprisonment.

According to the text of the signed law, the St. George ribbon is assigned the status of a symbol of military glory of Russia, which, in turn, according to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, entails punishment for individuals in the form of a fine of up to 3 million rubles or imprisonment for up to three years.

It is noted that for this act in case of aggravating conditions, such as committing a crime by a group of persons by prior conspiracy or with the use of mass media or the Internet, the fine may be increased to 5 million rubles, and the term of imprisonment - up to five years.