From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 5/28/2005 3:00 PM Putin concedes human rights need attention in Russia LAST UPDATE: 5/27/2005 10:39:24 PM
MOSCOW (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged Friday that Russia had human rights problems that need attention, but said the country had made progress over the past 10 to 15 years.
He spoke during a meeting with the human rights commissioner of the Council of Europe, Alvaro Gil-Robles, who presented Putin with the group's rights report on Russia.
The report by the continent's top rights watchdog, which was issued last month, urges Russia to abolish the death penalty, combat police violence and safeguard minority rights, particularly in Chechnya. It also calls on Moscow to improve prison conditions, guarantee full freedom of expression and strengthen the independence of the judiciary.
"We'll pay careful attention to the conclusions laid down in the report and will work strenuously during the next two years not merely to react, but to change the situation in some areas," Putin told Gil-Robles.
The commissioner called Russia "a great European democracy" and said officials there had offered a positive response to the report. But he added that Russia should be held to the same standards as all the members of the Council of Europe.
Many Russian and foreign rights advocates say that civil liberties in Russia have declined during Putin's five years in office, with the security services given broader powers and restrictions slapped on independent media.
Gil-Robles said he was "shocked" at a jury's recent verdict acquitting four members of an elite military intelligence unit who were charged with killing six civilians in the breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya.
"I hope this will be rectified by the same Russian tribunal," he said.
The defendants, accused of killing six civilians who were riding in a truck that passed their position in 2002, insisted they were acting on superiors' orders.
Human rights groups claim Russian soldiers and Chechen security forces frequently act with brutal impunity, including killing, abducting and intimidating civilians in Chechnya.
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