Russian authorities not only have narrowed the rules regarding NGOs’ activities, but they also subject civil society activists to direct repression, Andrei Aliaksandrau reports
The pro-Putin United Russia party has re-criminalised defamation, just half a year since it was decriminalised on the initiative of ex-president Dmitry Medvedev.
The move is in line with Russian government’s authoritarian response to a number of mass protests. Since Vladimir Putin returned to the Kremlin, the State Duma has passed scandalous laws against rally organisers, NGOs which receive financial support from abroad and a blacklist of websites, which lets authorities shut down websites without the court’s decision. (more…)