RUSSIAN PUBLIC'S VIEWS ON POLICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS

UNCLAS MOSCOW 010289

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/RUS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI RS
SUBJECT: RUSSIAN PUBLIC'S VIEWS ON POLICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS



1. SUMMARY: An overwhelming majority of the Russian public
believes that human rights abuse by police is widespread
according to recent polling data. The police, on the
contrary, believe they are unfairly maligned, but recognize
problems within the MVD. These and other findings presented
on September 11 by the Moscow-based Levada Center suggest
that the one thing that citizens and police have in common is
an adversarial view of one other. END SUMMARY


2. At the September 11 unveiling of a study entitled "Index
of Abuse by Law Enforcement Agencies," Yuriy Levada, Director
of the eponynomous Levada Center, confirmed that abuses by
the police are significant and are not properly being
addressed by the authorities. Among the study's significant
findings:

-- only 25 percent of Russians have faith in the police;
-- all age groups and education levels believe that abuse by
the police is a serious problem, with more than 80 percent
considering it a very serious or rather serious problem;
-- over 50 percent of the population also thinks that
authorities deploy the police against their political
opponents;
-- less than 14 percent of the population feel that they are
properly protected by the police;
-- and only 30 percent feel they can rely on other law
enforcement agencies to defend their rights when they are
victims of police abuse.


3. At the top of Russians concern about police behavior were:

-- extortion of small and mid-sized businesses;
-- extortion for lack of a residence permit;
-- police collusion with organized crime groups;
-- lack of legal or administrative recourse to police abuse.


4. According to the study, Russians also feared illegal
behavior by the police, such as threats and physical
violence, arbitrary detainment, drug and weapons "frame-ups,"
false testimony, and the excessive use of force during
demonstrations and meetings. A slight majority of
respondents, however, believed that the police had become
more professional in the last two to three years.


5. The study also surveyed police officers, who described
systemic problems in their law enforcement agencies. Findings
included:

-- the MVD leadership does not sufficiently address the needs
of police officers;
-- police said that they have no recourse against their
superiors and that their work is very formalized and
bureaucratic;
-- the police believe that the media intentionally paint a
negative picture of them.


6. Tellingly, more than half of those officers surveyed
consider it acceptable to use force against detained
suspects, and twenty percent believe it is acceptable to
plant drugs or weapons on suspects.


7. In summarizing the results of the study, Levada
contended that although the Soviet system had collapsed, law
enforcement institutions remained unchanged, especially in
its outlook.
BURNS