Russia: Beyond The Olympic Torch’s Glow

(Moscow) – As the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics Torch Relay kicks off in Moscow today, the route is marked by major human rights abuses.

As the torch begins its journey, Human Rights Watch is launching a new interactive “alternative torch relay map” to spotlight serious human rights concerns in the cities and towns along the relay route.

“Russia’s torch relay aims to display the country’s diversity and history, but human rights abuses are very much a part of Russia’s contemporary geography,” said Jane Buchanan, associate director for Europe and Central Asia at Human Rights Watch. “People should be aware of the discrimination, silencing of activists, and other human rights abuses that Russia isn’t showcasing.”

According to the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee’s website, the torch relay will last 123 days, arriving in Sochi on February 7, 2014, for the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games. The torch will travel more than 65,000 kilometers, through 2,900 localities in all 83 of Russia’s regions. Organizers claim the relay will be the longest in Winter Olympics history.



(2013-10-06/hrw)