MOSCOW, February 12 - RAPSI. President Vladimir Putin has signed a bill limiting to 1.5 years the maximum aggregate period of detention and house arrest for suspects and the accused. The corresponding document has been posted on the government's official legal information website on Tuesday.

"The period of detention is included in the arrest period," the document states. "The aggregate period of house arrest and detention - despite their chronological order - should not exceed the period of detention set forth in Article 109."

Based on Article 109 of the Criminal Procedural Code, the period of detention must not exceed two months during a criminal investigation. If a preliminary investigation cannot be completed at this time, the period of duration may be prolonged to six months if there are no grounds for altering or abolishing the measures of restraint.

The period of duration can be further prolonged for people accused of grave and especially grave crimes. An over-12-month period of detention can be prolonged to 18 months in exceptional instances for people accused of especially grave crimes.