Russia amends law to block calls from ‘telephone terrorists’

Moscow, Dec 6 (IANS) Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed an amendment to the law on communications, allowing the block of calls from suspected "telephone terrorists."

The amendment was published on the official portal of legal information on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The amendment requires communications operators to stop service for suspected telephone hoaxers at the request of law enforcement agencies "to prevent and suppress crimes using communications networks."

Since September, Russia has been hit by a wave of hoax calls about planted bombs, which led to the evacuation of various public buildings and caused significant financial losses.

So far, nobody has claimed responsibility for these calls and law enforcement agencies complained that it was difficult to find the perpetrators, who operated from abroad using complicated equipment and schemes.

Russia's State Duma, or the lower house of parliament, is mulling a bill to impose heavy fines and prison terms on telephone hoaxers.