Reuters Videos
STORY: This video was recorded by Russian civil rights activist Alexander Zharov as he entered a metro station in Moscow.We see Zharov walking through a payment gate equipped with a camera…which snaps a photo of him.Minutes later, police officers approach him on the platform.(Alexander Zharov) "I asked them to tell me the reason for my detention. One of the police officers justified this by saying that I was on the wanted list.”It was the third time Zharov had been detained inside the Moscow metro.The 32-year-old was identified by facial recognition,a technology that’s widely deployed across the city’s subway system.A Reuters investigation has found that Moscow’s video surveillance network plays an important role in the arrests of anti-government protesters.We also found that since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, authorities have begun using facial recognition as a preventive measure to stop people from protesting in the first place.(Sergei Pinchuk) “In Russia, we have a Big Brother who's watching for you every time. And people can't say, can't talk more about political things or something like this.”The Russian government and Moscow city authorities did not respond to detailed questions for this story and the episodes it describes. Let’s take a closer look at how facial recognition is helping Russian police identify and sweep up Kremlin’s opponents, whenever they choose. In 2017, the city of Moscow announced the launch of one of the world’s largest facial recognition video surveillance networks.Some 160,000 cameras were installed across the city to help law enforcement,the city’s Department of Information Technologies said at the time.The Moscow metro uses facial recognition as part of its fare payment system as well as for security reasons.Passengers are photographed as they walk through the gates. A computer algorithm then uses artificial intelligence algorithms to analyze and identify faces.If the system flags a passenger for detention, police respond within seconds or minutes.That’s according to 29 people who were detained in this way. All have one thing in common – they’re critical of President Vladimir Putin. Most have previously joined anti-government protests. (Alexander Zharov) "I think the reason why I was detained in the metro is due to me taking my civic stance which is that I am against the war between Russia and Ukraine and against political repression in the country."Our review of more than 2,000 court cases shows these cameras have played an important role in the arrests of hundreds of protesters.Most of these people were detained in 2021 after they joined anti-government demonstrations.But after Russia invaded Ukraine, authorities began using facial recognition to prevent people from protesting in the first place. That’s according to more than two dozen detainees.27-year-old Sergei Pinchuk is one of them."On May 9th, I was detained in a metro in one of the metro stations in Moscow. And actually I had been detained before five or six times, I don't remember, because of my political activities, but that detention, it was special. It was unusual, because I was detained for nothing. Just when I entered the metro station and a police officer approached me, grabbed me and said, 'You're detained, come with me.'"Pinchuk says the police then took him to a nearby police station for interrogation."There was a police officer - Rogov, it's his last name - I remember that because he threatened me. He grabbed my neck and beat me against the wall a couple of times, kicked by his foot. And he was really angry. He was violent. Yeah, that was a bad experience."Neither Pinchuk nor Zharov were charged with any offense. Russian and Moscow officials did not respond to Reuters’ questions about the detention of Zharov, Pinchuk or the other interviewees. The Kremlin referred detailed questions for this story to the Moscow mayor’s office which did not respond. And Russia’s Interior Ministry, which oversees law enforcement, did not respond to questions sent via the Kremlin.For both Pinchuk and Zharov, the surveillance, risk of detention,coupled with pressure from the police have so upended their lives,they felt they were left with no other choice but to leave Russia.(Alexander Zharov) “After the detention I had a feeling that Russia was transforming into some sort of a Chinese Xinjiang filial branch, where modern digital technologies become toy in the hands of a dictator."Zharov has moved to Germany,while Pinchuk decided to relocate to the United States. He now lives in Seattle and is seeking asylum."It all happened so fast. I didn't even regret in that, in that moment, in that day. But then I realised that I left home, all my life here; my dog, my parents, my friends, you know. When I get in the car and go to the airport, yeah, I was crying a little, a little bit yeah. That was the last time when I was crying.""For the future? I hope things will change in my country, of course, I hope I will see my family soon. But I'm a realist, as I said before, and I don't think that something like this is going to happen soon, very soon."
Yahoo Sports 