Alex Linder
February 4th, 2008, 01:30 AM
2007 Hate Crime Rate In Russia Up By 13 Percent
January 29, 2008 11:19 p.m. EST
Isabelle Duerme - AHN News Writer
Moscow, Russia (AHN) - The number and intensity of hate crimes in Russia were said to have increased by 13 percent in 2007, compared to the numbers gathered the past year.
The statistics were brought forwards by a human activists group that hurled accusations to the government for its lack of activity to combat the growing xenophobia.
The hate crimes, based mostly on racial differences, resulted in 67 deaths and 550 injuries in 2007. The major targets of the crimes were said to be African, Asian, and anti-Nazi students and activists.
Deputy Director Galina Kozhevnikova, according to The Jurist, spoke out by criticizing the Russian authorities' lack of response. The incidents involving xenophobia-based violence were merely considered hooliganism, which earned the suspects lighter sentences.
He also drew attention to the government-leaning groups, such as the popular Nashi, that brandished racist slogans and proclaimed ethnocentric beliefs, saying there had been no prosecutions given to the ones responsible.
"Neo-Nazis are out not to beat up (their victims), but to kill," Raw Story quoted Kozhevnikova. She furthered to say that the attacks have increased in their degree of violence, amidst "an obvious steady rise" in violent acts fueled by race hate.
She noted that out of the hundreds of incidents rooted to xenophobia, only 24 convictions were dealt out.
Kozhevnikova also brought up the lenient behavior of officials towards propagators of hate crimes, as long as authority is not challenged or criticized, and that the incidents occur only in certain geographical parts.
The government issued no responses to her statements.
A Nashi spokeswoman denied claims of their allegedly racist logo, with her saying that one of the group's primary objectives was to combat xenophobia.
A recent study focusing on hate crimes in France, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom concluded that there is an apparent rise in the number of hate crimes occurring all over Europe, especially in Russia.
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7009871806
January 29, 2008 11:19 p.m. EST
Isabelle Duerme - AHN News Writer
Moscow, Russia (AHN) - The number and intensity of hate crimes in Russia were said to have increased by 13 percent in 2007, compared to the numbers gathered the past year.
The statistics were brought forwards by a human activists group that hurled accusations to the government for its lack of activity to combat the growing xenophobia.
The hate crimes, based mostly on racial differences, resulted in 67 deaths and 550 injuries in 2007. The major targets of the crimes were said to be African, Asian, and anti-Nazi students and activists.
Deputy Director Galina Kozhevnikova, according to The Jurist, spoke out by criticizing the Russian authorities' lack of response. The incidents involving xenophobia-based violence were merely considered hooliganism, which earned the suspects lighter sentences.
He also drew attention to the government-leaning groups, such as the popular Nashi, that brandished racist slogans and proclaimed ethnocentric beliefs, saying there had been no prosecutions given to the ones responsible.
"Neo-Nazis are out not to beat up (their victims), but to kill," Raw Story quoted Kozhevnikova. She furthered to say that the attacks have increased in their degree of violence, amidst "an obvious steady rise" in violent acts fueled by race hate.
She noted that out of the hundreds of incidents rooted to xenophobia, only 24 convictions were dealt out.
Kozhevnikova also brought up the lenient behavior of officials towards propagators of hate crimes, as long as authority is not challenged or criticized, and that the incidents occur only in certain geographical parts.
The government issued no responses to her statements.
A Nashi spokeswoman denied claims of their allegedly racist logo, with her saying that one of the group's primary objectives was to combat xenophobia.
A recent study focusing on hate crimes in France, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom concluded that there is an apparent rise in the number of hate crimes occurring all over Europe, especially in Russia.
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7009871806