Robert Amsterdam

Yesterday I had an interview with the journalist Andrey Novikov, who since last February has been held against his will in psychiatric confinement on a spurious charge of "publicly inciting constitutional change by means of force." Press freedom watchdog Reporters without Borders comments that "Novikov has been the victim of practices contrary to the rule of law. ... It seems that Russia’s special services and psychiatrists are still empowered to take charge of anyone whose words or actions stray from the Kremlin line. The use of punitive confinement is very dissuasive for all those who might be tempted to express their disagreement with the authorities.”

Below is an exclusive video statement I got from Novikov in which he requests political asylum to escape the persecution he is suffering from in Russia. Stay tuned for more - Grigory Pasko.