Law on State Secrets Applies to Limited Number of People, Nothing to Worry About – Kostin

MOSCOW. Oct 31 (Interfax) – Civil Society Development Fund Head Konstantin Kostin thinks there is no reason to criticize the latest amendments to the Law on State Secrets. He called the negative reaction of certain human rights activists “emotional.”

“I have seen nothing extraordinary in these amendments. Any country wants to protect its interests, including state secrets,” he told Interfax on Wednesday.

In Kostin’s words, the bill incorporates the experience of foreign countries, including the United Kingdom. “The issue of state secrets relates to an extremely limited number of citizens. The number of persons seeking unauthorized access to state secrets through pressure, intimidation or other methods is even smaller,” the expert remarked.

“Frankly, I do not quite understand the emotional reaction to this law. I think this is an emotional reaction rather than a serious discussion of the essence of the problem,” he said.

Kostin drew a parallel between the amendments and the Law on Rallies, which also triggered a reaction. “The same people said that the law would make it impossible to hold any rallies in Russia. But, as we can see, mass actions, including protests by the opposition, continue, while the new law significantly reduces the number of violations and detentions,” he said.

“This is good for rally participants and law enforcement, whose activities are now regulated, and citizens who take no part in opposition activity,” Kostin said.

Concerning the opinion of human rights activists that amendments to the Law on State Secrets should have been a subject of public debate, Kostin said, “Bills are supposed to be discussed by the public before their adoption if they concern the interests of a broad range of people. But this is not the case.”