20:43, 24 August 2013

Lev Levinson: Olympic Sochi will be under state of emergency

Checkpoint of Olympic park. Sochi, June 27, 2013. Photo by Svetlana Kravchenko for the ‘Caucasian Knot’

In the opinion of many locals and human rights activists, the introduction of a number of restrictions in Sochi for the period of preparation and holding of the Olympic Games violates the rights of city residents and visitors alike.

Let us remind you that on August 23, the decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin entered into force. It introduces a number of limitations for the above period.

Lev Levinson, an expert of the Human Rights Institute, has noted that decree will actually put the region under the state of emergency.

"The restriction of travel, searching citizens at checkpoints – these are elements of the state of emergency. This is done with no official announcement of the state of emergency, because the respective law lists all the grounds on which it may be introduced, namely, terrorist activities, a threat to state security, natural disasters, but not sporting events," the human rights activist told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

He added that the regime, declared by the decree, in fact gives citizens' rights into the hands of particular agencies.

Author: Semypn Charny, Svetlana Kravchenko

Source: CK correspondents