The head of the presidential human rights council has dismissed a compromising video that appeared on the website of a pro-Kremlin tabloid, saying the clip could be meant to pressure him ahead of the selection of new council members.
A video of Mikhail Fedotov's car allegedly breaking numerous traffic laws surfaced on the website of the Life News tabloid Wednesday. In the video, a driver of a car belonging to the presidential car service and lent to Fedotov is seen running a red light and driving on the wrong side of the road.
Fedotov claims that the video is not recent because it shows a car he used two years ago. He says he has since changed the car and even taken on a new driver.
"The fact that we are now seeing a video that was shot two years ago shows that someone really needs this at a time when the new human rights council is being formed," Fedotov told Interfax on Thursday.
Last week, President Vladimir Putin proposed increasing the membership of the human rights council from 40 to 60 people after a large number of online votes were cast for the candidates. Putin suggested at the time that three candidates should be taken for each of the 13 open seats on the council.
The decree for the new composition of the council has not yet been signed, Fedotov told Interfax. He also added that he is planning to consult experts before starting legal action regarding the video.
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