Human rights activists dissatisfied with new amendments on extremism

Amendments to the law "On Counteracting Extremist Activities," adopted in the first reading by the State Duma, will impede the work of human rights activists and journalists who criticize bureaucrats, Russian human rights activists think.

Note that human rights activists have repeatedly spoken on the necessity to improve the Federal Law "On Counteracting Extremist Activities," in particular, to define the notion of "extremism," which is too diffuse in the Law and makes its application difficult. A mechanism was also proposed to make a Federal Registry of extremist materials, and it was envisaged to introduce responsibility for negation of the Holocaust, as it is assumed in the legislation of a number of countries of the Western Europe. January 27, a sitting of the working group of the Committee for Legislation of the Russian State Duma took place, where the deputies of the Russian State Duma discussed the bill with the members of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, human rights activists and experts. Some time later, a similar discussion was held by the State Duma Committee for Security.

"The amendments adopted on June 28 this year by the State Duma in the first reading are essentially different from the ones considered and supported earlier and create conditions for voluntary application of the Law, eviscerate its sense and complicate its enforcement," runs the message of the Moscow Bureau on Human Rights (MBHR) that arrived to the Editorial Board of the "Caucasian Knot".

Human rights activists think that "new amendments will essentially impede the work of human rights activists and journalists who often criticize certain bureaucrats and deputies, which admit xenophobic and radical-nationalistic utterances." "Thus, xenophobes in various levels of state power will easier escape responsibility and easier attach tags of extremists on their opponents," the declaration of the MBHR runs.

Interpreting extremism as "impeding lawful activity of the bodies of state power, electoral commissions, and lawful activity of officials of the above bodies, combined with violence or a threat to apply it" allows declaring as extremist any actions of citizens who stand for their rights, human rights activists assert. Thus, any meetings and pickets, critical publications in mass media, etc. may be treated to be extremist ones.

In this connection, human rights activists demand "to take measures for a serious and public discussion of the bill, in order not to admit "in good intentions" a restriction of democracy and human rights in the Russian Federation."