General Intelligence Agency addresses rumors about amendments to the Criminal Law

The General Intelligence Agency of Mongolia released a statement about amendments to the Criminal Law that were approved by Parliament, addressing reports about changes to the law regarding treason.

The statement read, “Recently, the public, press, and media have reported that articles on the crime of treason were updated and withdrawn from the Criminal Law when parliament approved amendments to the law on May 11, 2017. That is absolutely incorrect information. The crime of treason defined in Article 79 of the Criminal Law in 2002 (19.1) and updated in 2015 (19.4) makes cooperating with foreign intelligence centers, persons, and organizations illegal. These two articles, separated by offenses and punishments, have not been diminished.”

The General Intelligence Agency statement noted that the amendments made to the Criminal Law reflect the current standards for international legislation, highlighting that defining treason in this way is a common practice in foreign countries. The agency said that surveys and studies on intelligence gathering and state authorities led to the amendments including specifications about judicial practices and criminal investigations of treason, and were based on the suggestions and conclusions of experts in the field.