http://news.com.com/2100-1023-938810.html Russia poised to restrict Net activities By Declan McCullagh Staff Writer, CNET News.com June 24, 2002, 12:10 PM PT MOSCOW--Russia's parliament may give final approval this week to sweeping restrictions on using the Internet to oppose the government. At the request of President Vladimir Putin, the Russian Duma voted 272 to 126 last week in favor of the offline and online restrictions as an immediate response to what Putin called a spate of pro-Nazi and anti-religious extremist activities. [...] The Russian measure, which could receive final approval in the Duma as early as this week, pitted Putin and his supporters against the members of Russia's nascent human rights community who decried the anti-extremism bill as a perilous expansion of police power. Also opposed to the Draft on Contravention of Extremist Activities were members of the Communist Party, who feared they could be targeted as illegal extremists. "It is true that in Russia nowadays, there are many cases of extremism based on religious and national background," Sergei Kovalev, a member of the 450-person Duma, said in an interview. "But the declared purpose of this bill has nothing to do with the true purpose. [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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