Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted Tuesday that citizens are in favor of using repressive measures against criminals when it’s in the public’s best interest.
Mr. Putin was speaking before members of Russia’s Interior Ministry, the federal body that oversees domestic policing efforts, when he made the remarks, state-run media reported.
“Even when law enforcement officers use — and let’s be frank — repressive state measures against those who break the law, people see that this is done in the interests of society. There’s support for this from the [Russian] people,” Mr. Putin said, according to a translation of a report published Tuesday by the TASS Russian news agency.
At the same time, Mr. Putin said that arrogance or disrespect on the part of law enforcement “is perceived as a betrayal of the common people.”
Last month, Amnesty International chided Russia in its annual State of the World’s Human Right’s report for the Kremlin’s “repressive use of vague national security and anti-extremism legislation and its concerted attempts to silence civil society in the country.”
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.