The new version of the law “On Counteraction to Extremist Activities” continues to attract keen attention of the independent media and human right activists. According to the amendments, adopted on July, 8th by the Russian State Duma in the third reading, any criticism against representatives of authorities could be considered as extremism. Human rights activists believe that the definition of extremism in the law is too wide and the authorities could use this law to repress any kind of dissidence, freedom of speech and make it an instrument of manipulations. (17-AUG-06)
Text: HRH/Moscow, Yanina Savenko. Sources: www.civitas.ru, www.hro.org , http://news.bbc.co.uk, www.compulenta.ru, http://echo.msk.ru. Photos: www.novayagazeta.ru
President Putin was the initiator of the bill and deputies from almost all the State Duma fractions elaborated it. In the State Duma 274 deputies voted for the bill and 145 deputies were against while the Public Chamber also approved the amendments. In spite of numerous requests of journalists and human rights activists to turn down the amendments to the Law “On Counteraction to Extremist Activities”, the Upper Chamber of the Russian Parliament adopted the new version of the Law and the President signed it on the 19th of July.
Too wide definition
Kremlin’s authorities insist that the new law is an instrument of fighting against neo-Nazis groups and those, who attack representatives of ethnic and racial minorities. Meanwhile legal acts which are necessary for protection against such crimes already exist. Moreover, the President didn’t even mention xenophobia and anti-Semitism in his project of the bill. As a result, the new law partly copies present laws. The law also permits the authorities to forbid unwelcome public, human rights and religious organizations. Besides, courts received the right to pass severe sentences on participants of unauthorized demonstrations. What is more, from now on public accusations of state officials and functionaries are considered as extremist activity.
Unauthorized protest rally is considered extremism
The law determines extremist activity utterly broadly and vaguely. For example, extremism is defined as “unlawful acts which hamper the lawful activities of state institutions of the authorities”. Formally ecological “Greenpeace actions”, anti-globalist demonstrations and unauthorizied protest rallies could be related to this definition. Because participants of protest actions gather near government’s buildings crying slogans and hamper the lawful activities of functionaries”.
Journalists shouldn’t quote extremist statements 
Then, public demonstrations of Nazi symbols also have to be considered as extremist ones. According to the new law TV show of newsreel of Nazi Germany should be evaluated as extremist activity. Documents, intended for social promulgation and other material medium, containing calls for extremist activities, consider as extremist materials. “If you follow this definition you have to forbid any citation of extremists’ speeches in mass media” – says Sergey Smirnov, the leader of the most informative human rights web portal in the Russian Federation. If an organization has carried out unauthorized rally or picket, the registration body has a right to appeal to court to ban this organization and stop its activities immediately since the moment of applying to court. Actually it means that state power get possibility to stop the activities of any disagreeable organization prior to court verdict.
Censorship in Internet
13-th article of the Law is devoted to Internet and it forbids placing on Internet sites materials containing calls to extremist activities. In fact it means prohibition of citing extremist statements. Prosecution bodies have a right to order a person who is a provider of the site” to remove “extremist” materials during 24 hours. If he refuses to follow this order, the site can be blocked out in five days according to the court verdict.
The law secures benefits to corruption
“We consider the adoption by the Russian State Duma the Law, according to which any criticism against representatives of state power can be evaluated as extremism as an attempt to curb the most important social role of mass-media, which is the only effective instrument of public control. This Law will put an end to all attempts of struggle against corruption. We believe that considering officials as persons who need special protection from slander and unjustified accusation in media is absolutely illegal. Such wide interpretation of extremism resembles Stalin’s definition of “enemies of people” that allows the authorities to use it for all that seems harmful or simply inconvenient to them “, – the statement of Russian Union of Journalists says.
