The first Moscow metro station was fitted this week with a checkpoint for suspicious passengers, though it remains unclear when it will be operational or when more will be installed, news reports said Thursday.
The checkpoint, complete with a metal detector and a luggage screening system, is near the exit from the downtown Okhotny Ryad metro station leading to Teatralnaya Ploshchad, RIA-Novosti reported. The equipment was delivered Tuesday and has not been activated, a metro policeman told the news agency.
Only “suspicious characters” will be asked to pass through the checkpoint, another patrol policeman told Noviye Izvestia newspaper.
Checkpoints need to be set up on all stations to be effective, security expert Alexander Ivanchenko told the newspaper. City or metro authorities did not comment Thursday on whether more would be installed, but the idea was discussed in the wake of twin metro bombings in March that left 40 dead. The suicide attacks were carried out by widows of Islamist militants.
A more recent wave of metro violence saw dozens of nationalist youth chasing North Caucasus natives in trains and downtown stations after a rally on Manezh Square that ended in clashes with riot police Dec. 11.
The Prosecutor General's Office forwarded to court on Thursday a case against siblings Apti and Aishi Magmadov, who are accused of convincing a woman to stage a suicide attack against the Russian military. The alleged suicide bomber, Egle Kusaite, a Lithuanian, was detained last year before she could carry out the attack.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
