12:13, 11 December 2013

IOC: special protest zone to be set up in Sochi during the Olympics

Sochi Winter Olympics countdown clock. Photo: Alexander V.Solomin, http://commons.wikimedia.org/

The Russian organizers of the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi have promised to set up special areas for holding protests during the Winter Olympic Games, said Thomas Bach, the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

According to his story, the Olympic officials notified him about the above decision on December 10 during the report of the executive board of the IOC.

"The Russian party will set up special places for people who want to express their opinion or wish to speak for or against something. The IOC and Sochi-2014 Organizing Committee had been discussing it for quite a long time. Today we were told that such places will be appointed in Sochi," the Radio Liberty quotes Thomas Bach as saying.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in August Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree banning any rallies and assemblies during the preparation and holding of the Games in Sochi.

However, on December 5, the bosses of the FSB (Russia's Federal Security Bureau) offered to allow, during the Olympics, protests unrelated to the 2014 Winter Games. This kind of actions should be agreed in advance with the administration of Sochi and territorial authorities of the MIA and FSB.