Russian rights watchdog head queries security service anonymous tip-off proposal

(Interfax – August 21, 2013) A proposal that Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) should react to anonymous tip-offs could lead to an increase in such messages and would in practice duplicate work done by the police, Tatyana Lokshina, head of Human Rights Watch’s Moscow bureau, told Interfax news agency on 21 August.(1)

On the same day, government-owned Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported on a draft instruction for the FSB to react to anonymous messages about crimes.

“According to the draft, anonymous messages which contain information about a crime that is being prepared, is being committed or has been committed should be recorded, registered and checked,” the paper said.(2)

“I have no doubt that a whole number of citizens write to the FSB anyway, in the best Soviet tradition,” Interfax quoted Lokshina as saying. “Could the number of such denunciations in this case increase? I think so,” she added.

“This innovation seems strange. It turns out that the FSB will duplicate the functions of the police. In principle, the policy should receive messages about crimes that are being prepared. What, will the appearance of yet another channel that will also react to such messages and conduct its own investigation improve anything?” Lokshina said.

Mikhail Fedotov, head of the Russian presidential human rights council, said that, should this instruction be approved, the special services would have to react to anonymous messages carefully, Interfax reported.(3)

“There are anonymous messages, and anonymous messages,” Fedotov was quoted as saying.

“A call to the emergency service saying that a bomb has been planted in a shopping center is not uncommon. These calls are anonymous. And even if the caller introduces himself, that does not mean this is his real name and surname. Each time that (call) is checked because it is a question of human life. Whether this will be in the instruction or not, anonymous calls in effect are already checked now when it is a question of human life,” Fedotov said.

“Another issue is when the competent authorities receive an anonymous message that there are diamonds hidden in your neighbour’s flat across the landing. That’s a great way to put your neighbour down,” he said.

Speaking on Kommersant FM radio, writer Yuriy Felshtinskiy was rather more sceptical. “Anonymous tip-offs enable FSB employees themselves to write, report this information to the authorities they like, and based on the denunciations they have written, allow criminal proceedings to be instituted,” Felshtinskiy was quoted as saying on the station’s website. “Now that is a very serious point,” he said.(4)

(1) Interfax news agency, Moscow, in Russian 0716 gmt 21 Aug 13

(2) Rossiyskaya Gazeta website, Moscow, in Russian 21 Aug 13

(3) Interfax news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1231 gmt 21 Aug 13

(4) Kommersant FM radio, Moscow, in Russian 1556 gmt 21 Aug 13