Paul Goble
Staunton, February 7 – In a chilling development, police in Moscow are going through the recordings of street cameras on January 23 and 31 to identify and then arrest many who took part in the Navalny protests who were not detained at the time, yet another indication that mere presence in a protest is now sufficient for detention.
Dozhd television reports police are now going to the apartments of those they have identified via cameras and facial recognition technology and bringing them to detention centers (tvrain.ru/news/politsija_nachala_prihodit_k_uchastnikam_protestov_v_moskve_ih_mogut_vychisljat_po_kameram_videonabljudenija-524174/).
Such a development is disturbing not only because of the obvious errors that can arise from the use of this new technology but also because it is a sign that the Putin regime is prepared to arrest and punish those who may have had nothing to do with the demonstrations but simply were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
In response, some activists are urging future demonstrators to wear face masks, but police say they have developed procedures which allow them to identify individuals even if they are wearing masks (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2021/01/video-facial-recognition-technology.html).
No comments:
Post a Comment