PEN-Centre protests against beating journalists during "Disagreement Marches"

The International Writers' Organization "Russian PEN-Centre" has expressed its serious concern of and protest against the force methods used by law enforcement bodies against the journalists who performed their professional duties during the actions of opposition in the streets of the Russian capital on April 14.

"In our opinion, the OMON (Special Militia) agents, pulled in from everywhere, exceeded their powers, when they launched their retaliatory attack both on the demonstrators and journalists that resulted in humiliation of human dignity, injuries and arrests. Similar actions took place in other Russian cities and also ended deplorably", ran the statement of the Organization, which was disseminated on Tuesday.

A protest was also expressed by the Japanese newspaper Mainichi in connection with beating during the "Disagreement March" by OMON employees of its correspondent Naoi Sugio.

At the same time, the Kremlin considers that the militia actions at suppressing the non-sanctioned Saturday actions of opposition in Moscow were quite reasonable.

The "Caucasian Knot" has already reported that the Human Rights Watch had also stated that at suppressing the "March" in Moscow, the militia used "disproportionate force."

Rene Van Der Linden, Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, announced on April 15 at the press conference that he had found inadmissible the application of force for dispersal of demonstrations in Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

The dispersals of "Disagreement Marches" in Russia were also deprecated by the European Union. The EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs are going to raise the issue of the events in Moscow and Saint Petersburg at the forthcoming meeting with the Russian delegation.