Human Rights
Tuesday 27 March 2018
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“Social networks, as you know, are a turbid source, regrettably. Therefore, one must rely on the results of the real investigation.”
Vladimir Putin’s claim that the official information in Russia is reliable had been challenged by the relatives of the victim. There is a long history of the Kremlin misinformation in such disasters. -
Give back Crimea? “What, have you lost your mind? There are no such circumstances and there never will be.”
Three days before the presidential elections in Russia Vladimir Putin appears at the major rally in Crimea, that his press secretary says, "is not connected with presidential elections" and repeats multiple statements justifying Russia's annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula, including the claims that he himself described in the past as "provocative." -
“We have already made a statement that this is all nonsense, we have nothing to do with this”
British investigators have determined that the nerve agent used in the poisoning of ex-Russian military intelligence spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Britain was manufactured in Russia. That alone is enough to earn the Russian foreign minister's claim that Russia had "nothing to do" with the poisoning a false verdict. -
Russian Parliament Leaders Falsely Imply Powerful US Lawmakers Are Immune to Charges of Sexual Abuse
“If such accusations were put forward by the female journalists of Russia Today or Sputnik, for instance, against Senator McCain – then the outcome would be predetermined – in the U.S.A. the Russian female journalists would be blamed.”
When Russian female journalists said #MeToo and accused top lawmaker of sexual harassment, they have been subjected to a campaign of public shame, accused of slander and of “violating professional ethics.” And, the Speaker of Russian Parliament advised the victims to “change jobs.” -
“There is not even a grain of truth in it. Attempts were made by certain forces, through bribery, promises of visas and residence permits in Europe, to persuade young people to make statements about being affiliated with gays and being persecuted for that. The topic of gays is only part of a large-scale information and psychological attack being carried out against Chechnya by organizations financed by the U.S. government and international organizations sponsored by Western intelligence agencies. In Chechnya, men have only one orientation, and its impact is evidenced by the highest birth rate in the country.”
Karimov’s statement does not align with numerous reports reflected in the Amnesty International’s annual report on the declining rights of the Chechen gays (p. 312, “Rights of Lesbian, Gay,….”) but copies earlier statements made to Vladimir Putin by Ramzan Kadyrov denying existence of any gays in Chechnya. -
"These are unfounded accusations. It is unclear what they are based on: no concrete data is provided. We do not agree with this."
The U.S., the United Nations, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, Kuwait, and other countries, along with scores of humanitarian organizations, say Moscow and Damascus are responsible for the bombing that killed hundreds of civilians in Ghouta, Syria. -
“Material about the deaths of dozens and hundreds of Russian citizens – it is classic disinformation. It was not 400, not 200, not 100 and not 10. Preliminary figures indicate that as a result of the armed clash that took place, the causes of which are now being investigated, we can talk about the deaths of five people, presumably citizens of Russia. There are also wounded, but all this needs to be verified – in particular, and first and foremost, [their] citizenship; whether they are citizens of Russia or other countries.”
Eight Russians killed in the incident have already been identified in press reports, and multiple sources suggest the number of Russian deaths is much higher. -
"In the EU countries, the flashmob #sorry launched by residents of Germany, Sweden, Denmark and other European countries has spread. The aim of the action is for European women to apologize to refugees for their depraved behavior and clothing that forced migrants to commit sexual violence against women."
There is no source or evidence for the existence of this flashmob, and the photo of the girl has been altered. -
"On February 3, while flying over the Idlib de-escalation zone for controlling ceasefire regime observance, [a] Russian Su-25 pair lead-aircraft was hit by a missile launched from a MANPAD.”
Experts have challenged the Russian Defense Ministry’s claim that the Su-25 shot down in Syria’s Idlib province was on a “ceasefire observance” mission, pointing to video footage showing that the Russian fighter jet launched an airstrike approximately 15 seconds before it was hit by a shoulder-fired missile. -
The charter establishing Russian government international broadcasters RT and Sputnik requires they cover government policy and also “public life in the Russian Federation.” During and after “Voter’s Strike” rallies held across Russia on Sunday, January 28, those protests were largely absent from the front pages of RT and Sputnik websites, despite the arrests of hundreds of people and the opposition leader.
Source: RT, Sputnik, December 28, 2017Russian government international broadcaster RT reported the January 28 "Voters Strike" on the Web and its television programs on Sunday and Monday - though the multi-city rallies did not receive as much attention on the government sites as on independent media. RT and Sputnik, the flagships of Russia's international broadcasting, did not appear to carry the story on their mobile newsfeeds late Sunday. Polygraph.info is happy to correct its earlier story and explain further the context of RT's coverage. -
“We expect a great atmosphere in Russia… a smooth operation and everything is done for the fans.”
Since Russia was chosen to host the 2018 World Cup, it has been the subject of a massive anti-doping investigation, banned from participation in the Olympics, and accused of worker exploitation and the mass killing of stray animals as part of the preparations for the world soccer tournament. The U.S. Justice Department investigates a firm, that helped Russia to win the 2018 World Cup bid. In addition, Russian soccer hooligans have been banned from the European Union for violence. -
"We waited for more than 70 years for the rehabilitation of the Crimean Tatar people, which they saw come true thanks to our president (in spring 2015, the Russian president signed a decree on measures to rehabilitate the Armenian, Bulgarian, Greek, Crimean-Tatar and German peoples-TASS). For more than 20 years (when Crimea was part of Ukraine-TASS) we asked that the Crimean Tatar language be a state language in Crimea, and only saw this come true after the reunification of the peninsula with Russia."
A "Crimean Tatar" leader says his people support Vladimir Putin in his bid for reelection in March. But does he really speak for the Crimean Tatar people?