Putin brings in tough anti-terrorism law before Olympics
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.President Vladimir Putin has signed off on tougher anti-terrorism laws ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics. The laws could oblige relatives to pay for any damage caused by militants fighting a separatist campaign in southern Russia.
The February games will take place around the Black Sea resort of Sochi, a few hundred kilometres from the mountainous North Caucasus region where rebels are fighting to carve out an Islamic state.
Moscow has cracked down on the Islamist insurgency in Dagestan, the epicentre of North Caucasus violence. But a suicide attack on a bus – staged outside the region in Volgograd but blamed on a woman from Dagestan – highlighted the threat to security. The new law, which Putin signed on Saturday, according to documents published yesterday on the Russian authorities’ legal website, introduces prison terms of up to 10 years for undergoing training “aimed at carrying out terrorist activity”.
Activists accuse the authorities of grave human rights violations in the North Caucasus.
Reuters
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments