Political persecution or political repression are the unlawful actions of the state, the deliberate deprivation of fundamental rights and freedoms. These actions are aimed at fighting against opponents: individuals, groups and organizations that, from the government officials’ standpoint, interfere with their political interests.Laws may consequently increase the number of available legal mechanisms of repression by criminalizing new actions, adding new articles to the Criminal Code or Code of Administrative Offenses, or expanding the provisions of existing ones; contribute to an increase in political persecution by supporting legal consolidation of the current power structure: for instance, laws on remote e-voting (remote electronic voting system in Russia); establish a legal framework for regulations that are not directly related to prosecution, but limit the rights of individuals, such as laws on electronic military conscription notices.
