There is a shocking case out of Siberia this week after a mayor was arrested for questioning the legality of a secret resort run by the the F.S.B., the main successor to the Soviet-era K.G.B. Tatyana Kazakova called for criminal charges after finding that the resort was endangering the village. Instead, the FSB had her arrested.
The case shows how incomplete the Russian revolution has been, particularly after Putin reinstated authoritarian measures and increased the power of the internal security agencies.
Kazakova, 47, acted after a major construction project at the resort exposed a hot water main, threatening the heating supply for the entire village as temperatures plunged to 30 degrees below zero.
The FSB responded with a raid of masked special service into her home and the homes of her associates. More than 250 witnesses have been interrogated, and 67 volumes of evidence have been collected. Despite domestic and international criticism, the FSB is unconcerned and pushing ahead with the criminal case. The New York Times reports that “[f]or nearly two and a half years, she was denied all contact with her fiancé, mother and three children, including a 15-year-old daughter who has a neurological disease.”
She now faces seven years in prison.
Source: NY Times
AY,
As I read this article yesterday in the NY Times, I was struck by the numerous parallels to what I’m seeing here in the U.S.
The arrest and detention of Tatyana Kazakova for complaining about unsafe construction practices is really shocking. We should be able to help Kazakova by making the authorities in Siberia aware that people in other countries are following the story. The U.N. should intervene. Don’t they have an equivalent of The Speedy Trial Act and the Bail Reform Act or 42 USC Section 1983 and 1985?
What this shows is that the natural tendency of governments is to be authoritarian and that it takes continued actions on the part of citizens to preserve their common law rights.
A few more”head scratchers”
Search: Dumb criminal moves
These potential Darwin Award nominees may not be the sharpest tools in the shed, but their crazy crime stories keep us entertained. Calling police to report your marijuana has been stolen? Asking out on a date the woman you allegedly just mugged? Getting a DUI in a La-Z-Boy? And more.
http://specials.msn.com/A-List/Dumb-criminal-moves.aspx?cp-documentid=20782430&imageindex=1&cp-searchtext=duct%20tape%20robber&FORM=MSNIIT
Hush, you’ll give the US ideals.