Moscow’s facial recognition cameras are identifying Navalny supporters: activists
- The Russian capital has one of the world’s most comprehensive surveillance systems
- Rights groups are seeing cases of people brought in for questioning after being picked out by cameras in Moscow for taking part in political rallies
With more than 105,000 cameras, Moscow boasts one of the world’s most comprehensive surveillance systems – which authorities say has helped cut crime and enforce coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
Yet, since the system became fully operational last year, rights activists have noted that cameras have been used to monitor political demonstrations, with a lack of clear rules allowing for abuse of the system.
Those concerns were renewed this week, after two straight weekends of nationwide protests.
Alexander Karavaev, a lawyer with Moscow-based human rights group Agora, said that several of his clients were brought in for questioning on January 31 after being picked out by cameras in Moscow.
Among them was Mikhail Shulman, the husband of renowned political scientist Yekaterina Shulman, who was stopped at a metro station after he and his wife approached officers to inquire about transport closures, said the lawyer.
“They (police) explained that the ‘face control’ system installed on the subway cameras had worked,” he said, adding police told him the system was normally used to identify people who have committed a crime.