Galina Kozhevnikova, the deputy director of the Sova nongovernmental organization, said that 40 such attacks were recorded in Russia over the past three months.
She said racially motivated crime was growing in Russia.
Theodoros Pangalos, the rapporteur on Russia in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, on April 5 urged Russian lawmakers to pass laws toughening the punishment for racially and ethnically motivated crimes.
(Interfax, AFP)
Epidemic Of Hate
Yusuf Sultonov, whose 9-year-old daughter was beaten and stabbed to death in St. Petersburg on February 9, 2004 (TASS)
EXTREMISM ASCENDANT: More than half of Russians have xenophobic views, according to a report published in August 2005. In the report, rights groups say that -- despite progress in some areas -- racism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism remain rife in Russia. But what worries watchdogs most are recent moves by nationalist-patriotic movements to form paramilitary groups....(more)
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