by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
SOCHI, Russia – Russian President Vladimir Putin has lifted a ban on demonstrations at the Winter Olympic venue of Sochi.
President Putin amended a decree to allow activist groups to conduct demonstrations and marches at pre-approved sites. In a statement released by the Kremlin, Putin indicated that the sites would be approved by the venue’s security force. The Russian President was at the Olympic venue as recently as Saturday, when he attended a rehearsal of the Winter Games’ opening ceremony.
“Gatherings, rallies, demonstrations, marches and pickets, which are not directly connected to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, could be staged on January 7 – March 21 2014… only after agreeing with… a local security body,” the release stated.
The ban on rallies had been imposed in August as a part of security crackdowns as a direct response to two suicide bombings in Volgograd which killed 34 people. No one has claimed responsibility for the bombings, however there is are groups in Southern Russia who aim to carve a separate Islamic state out of the region (including Sochi) that are thought to have ties to the attacks.
Campaign groups had been advocating for a lift of the bans, pleading that they violated Russia’s constitution. The International Olympic Committee praised Putin’s decision, the latest in a series of gestures aimed at silencing critics of Russia’s human-rights record.
“It is in line with the assurances that President Putin gave us last year and part of the Russian authorities’ plans to ensure free expression during the Games whilst delivering safe and secure Games,” the committee stated.
The Russian President has planned to utilize the Sochi Olympics to show a political turnaround under his administration after the fall of the Soviet Union. Last month, the Putin also freed several of Russia’s most notorious prisoners: former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and two members of the female punk group Pussy Riot.
Human Rights groups have criticized Russia’s treatment of migrant workers, particularly at Olympic sites, and have advocated for a boycott of the Sochi Games over a law banning the spread of “gay propaganda” among minors, saying it violates basic freedoms.
A December opinion poll showed that President Putin’s public approval rating fell to its lowest level in over 13 years as the country is facing high inflation and a struggling economy.
For more information, please see:
ABC News – Sochi Winter Olympics: Vladimir Putin Lifts Blanket Ban on Political Protests – 4 December 2014
Al Jazeera – Russia Eases Restriction on Olympic Protests – 4 December 2o14
BBC News – Winter Olympics: Russia to Allow Protests in Special Zone – 4 December 2014
Russia Today – Putin Lifts Ban on Protests at Sochi Olympics, Orders Area Specially for Rallies – 4 December 2014
