Alekseyeva backs police actions in Biryulyovo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, October 14, 2013) Lyudmila Alekseyeva, the chairman of the Moscow Helsinki Group, said the police officers ‘ actions during riots in the Moscow district Western Biryulyovo were right.

“In this case, what has occurred should be classified as hooliganism. It truly was hooliganism, and the law enforcement agencies should punish the perpetrators,” Alekseyeva told Interfax on Monday.

“Law enforcement agencies should curb such acts. The Interior Ministry should also give attention to the complaints made by residents of Western Biryulyovo, who are saying they are being robbed, beaten, and intimidated,” Alekseyeva said.

Riots triggered by the killing of a local man occurred in Western Biryulyovo on Sunday.

“People should be comforted. They should try finding the criminal and they should prevent violence on the streets. I was alarmed by the fact that people see non-Russians as the main cause of all problems. Moscow is the capital of a multi-ethnic state and it should be a multi-ethnic city by definition,” Alekseyeva said.

“Unlike the events that occurred in the Bolotnaya Square on May 6, 2012, the people who gathered in Biryulyovo were really aggressive. They overturned garbage containers, tried to overturn cars, and attacked police officers,” she said.

[featured image is file photo]