MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's lower house of parliament moved a step closer to passing a Kremlin-sponsored law on combatting political extremism Thursday that many lawmakers and human rights groups say would give the government too much power.
Lawmakers in the Duma voted 272 to 126 with 2 abstentions to pass the bill on the second of three readings. Ahead of the vote, deputies significantly expanded the definition of "extremism."
The law now applies to any activity aimed at overthrowing the government, undermining security, violating Russia's territorial integrity, or instigating social, national or religious hatred.
It also outlaws Nazi propaganda and display of Nazi symbols.
The government submitted the bill after a number high-profile anti-Semitic acts in Russia, including a recent incident in Moscow in which a sign that read "Death to Jews" exploded in the face of a woman who tried to remove it from the side of the road.
But opponents say the bill's definition of extremism is too broad and could allow police to outlaw activist organizations or hand out severe punishments to demonstrators who hold unsanctioned protests.
Kremlin officials have said law enforcement agencies need new legal tools to deal with neo-fascist organizations and skinheads who attack racial and ethnic minorities. Police have long classified such attacks as simple "hooliganism."
The bill must go through one more reading in the Duma and then be approved by the upper house and signed by President Vladimir Putin to become law.