Grant Bayldon: Putin playing games over human rights

Promoting homosexuality can bring a hefty fine in Russia. Photo / AP

Opinion

Russia hosts making mockery of Olympic principles of non-discrimination, equality, inclusion and respect

Olympic Games are no strangers to controversial venues. To win the hosting of the 2008 Games, China played a transparently cynical game. Promising the International Olympic Committee human rights reform, it instead rolled out brutal repression in Tibet and rounded up government critics. The IOC uttered barely a murmur of protest.

Twenty years earlier, South Korea's selection for the 1988 Games while under military rule had been equally controversial. But unlike in China, the Games added impetus for real change, with human rights improvements and a return to democracy in the lead-up to the event.

After the 2012 London Games, the Russian Government made a public commitment to adhere to the Olympic principles of non-discrimination, equality, inclusion, respect and mutual understanding and to promote human rights during the Winter Olympics and beyond.

Sadly, these basic rights, with many others, have been in short supply in Russia in the lead-up to the Sochi Games.

Since Vladimir Putin's return to the presidency in 2012, a wave of new repression has been unleashed in the form of a litany of restrictive laws, bureaucratic requirements and plain brutality - either directly by security forces or indirectly by turning a blind eye to the activities of violent extremists.

If you're travelling to the Games there are some things that you'd do well t olook out for. Do not, for example, engage in a public gathering of more than one person without a permit. And if you're planning to discuss any subjects sensitive to the authorities, there's probably no point applying.

Many of the new laws are written so broadly that authorities can (and often do) use them to crack down on pretty much anything. Spontaneous group dynamics such as collective cheering could even be perceived as a flash mob, which is not permitted by law and may be punishable by compulsory public labour.

You'd also do well to avoid criticising the competition or Games officials.

If you think you won't be able to help yourself do be sure to carry 100,000 ($164,000), which is the maximum penalty for slander and defamation under Russian law. Journalists who have an inclination to report critically should have legal support on standby for screening of their articles before publication.

It's also now important to think twice before accepting invitations by local residents to visit their homes or join them for a drink.

The definition of "treason" has recently been widened, and any Russians who maintain contact with foreigners are at risk of detention.

If you are a member of Amnesty International or other non-governmental organisations, you may want to report yourself upon arrival to the police as a "foreign agent", just to be sure to avoid the risk of being fined or imprisoned during your stay.

Oh, and of course be careful whom you hold hands with or hug in joy and excitement if your team wins. If they are the same sex as you and there are minors around, you could be deemed to be promoting homosexuality and face a hefty fine.

Beneath all this pettiness lies an ugly reality: the human rights situation in Russia has become increasingly disastrous.

While journalists, lawyers and human rights activists critical of the Government are attacked or even killed, investigations into these crimes are ineffective. Trials, lacking basic standards of fairness, have become increasingly politically influenced. Torture in detention has become widespread.

The days of the big Olympic boycotts - such as Moscow in 1980 and Los Angeles in 1984 - seem to be over; most people will be grateful for that. And it's true that the international spotlight that spectacles like the Olympics bring can be a real impetus for change.

But when we see countries - such as Russia - using international events as an excuse to crack down on basic human rights, the Olympic Committee and the world are right to ask whether an event intended to foster inclusion, respect and mutual understanding has been perverted from what it is supposed to stand for.

• Grant Bayldon is the Amnesty International NZ executive director.