Civil rights have eroded in Putin's Russia!

MOSCOW, Russia - February 26, 2008 - Civil rights in Russia have been eroded under President Vladimir Putin, Amnesty International said on Tuesday, five days before a presidential election widely criticized in the West.

In a report, the London-based rights group said new laws restricting non-government organizations (NGOs), police breaking up anti-Kremlin demonstrations, and complaints of harassment from critics of the Kremlin were all part of a systematic destruction of civil liberties in Russia.

"Human rights defenders, independent civil society organizations, political opponents and ordinary citizens have all been victims of this roll-back on civil and political rights," the report said.

"The space for critical views, and for independent media and independent organizations to operate, is shrinking."

Russians vote on Sunday in a presidential election that Putin's preferred successor, First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, is expected to win easily.

Opponents of the Kremlin say the vote will be unfair.

Europe's main election watchdog, from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), has pulled out of monitoring the vote, citing the restrictions being imposed on its work. The Council of Europe observer has said he fears the election will not be sufficiently free or fair.

However, opinion polls show that most Russians back Medvedev, endorsed by the popular Putin, whom many voters credit for overseeing the strongest economic boom in a generation.

The Kremlin says it is committed to human rights and democracy, but accuses Western governments of using rights as a political weapon to try to limit Russia's resurgence on the world stage.

Last year police quashed street protests by an anti-Kremlin coalition, and several murders or mysterious deaths of journalists critical of the Russian authorities remain unsolved.