Russia’s Police Reform Plan Faces Major Revamp
Federation Council Senator Viktor Ozerov believes Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's bill to reform the country's notoriously corrupt police force points in the right direction but faces major changes as it undergoes unprecedented public debate, according to The Moscow Times. Ozerov, who chairs the Federation Council's Defense and Security Committee, said: "There are some weak spots and contradictions in the bill, and I think the text that will be forwarded to the State Duma will differ from the text we are debating today."
However, economist Mikhail Delyagin said the bill actually increases the powers and reduces the accountability of the police force. In a recently published article, Delyagin argued that the draft declares any police action to be legitimate until proven otherwise by a court decision. He added that the police's right to enter private homes and to check citizens' documents would also be widened in the legislation.