Moscow has Put More than 3,000 Russians on Secret List of People Subject to Restrictions without Any Court Decision, ‘First Department’ Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Nov. 12 – Russian officials have created a secret list of more than 3,000 Russians who are thought to be involved in extremist or terrorist activities and are subject to the same restrictions imposed on those formally identified as such by the actions of the courts, according to the First Department legal rights defense project.

            This allows the Russian authorities to place on such a list anyone it wants without any legal protections for those who are included and opens the way to the opening of criminal cases against them at any time, the project’s researchers say (dept.one/story/secret-rfm/ and currenttime.tv/a/33897779.html).

            The First Department portal has posted on line the list that it has found and is making it available to all who may be on it or who are concerned about the fate of those who are. Such a list is both dangerous in its own right and an indication of the increasing willingness of the Kremlin to end run even the limited protections Russian law and the courts provide.