Embassy Row

Russia’s ‘spy mania’

Congressional human rights advocates are warning of a growing threat to civil liberties in Russia and urging President Bush to raise the issues at this week’s Group of Eight summit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin “is increasingly relying on the security-intelligence apparatus to run Russia, with ominous consequences for human rights, civil liberties and democratic progress,” leaders of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe wrote to Mr. Bush.

They said Russian human rights activists refer to Mr. Putin’s “spy mania.”

The letter was signed by Rep. Christopher H. Smith, New Jersey Republican and commission chairman, Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Colorado Republican and co-chairman, and Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin of Maryland, the commission’s senior Democrat.

They asked Mr. Bush to raise their concerns when he meets with Mr. Putin and other world leaders at the summit in Sea Island, Ga., which begins tomorrow.

They said many academics and environmentalists have been charged with collaborating with Western intelligence agencies “on the basis of questionable evidence and procedures.”

One such case involved Igor Sutyagin, a researcher at Moscow’s U.S. and Canada Institute, who was jailed for 15 years on espionage charges for passing publicly available scientific research to foreign colleagues.

Religious liberty is also at risk, they said, citing a Moscow court’s ruling that bans Jehovah’s Witnesses from spreading word about their sect.

“This should set off alarm bells for members of other religious minorities in Moscow and beyond,” the legislators said.

They also denounced the Russian government’s policies in the rebellious Chechnya region “where the most egregious violations of international humanitarian law anywhere in the [European] region are occurring.”

Diplomatic traffic

Foreign visitors in Washington this week include:

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