Ultraconservative Russian State Duma deputy Irina Yarovaya, the main author of a recent series of controversial anti-terror laws, lashed out at Western politicians Friday morning following a terrorist attack in the French city of Nice.
Fellow Duma deputy Dmitry Gudkov shared Yarovaya's comments on Facebook: “Abuses of permissiveness of belief under the guise of freedom continue to replicate themselves openly through non-profit organizations, alleged rights activists, and opportunistic politicians.”
“[These] create obstacles for law enforcement and encourage the free spread of terrorism throughout the world, stalling the possibility of an adequate response to new threats that face security services,” she said.
She also called for all countries to unite their forces in the fight against terrorism. According to the gazeta.ru news site, Yarovaya said that with the current frequency of terrorist attacks, the “familiar ritual” of condolences and grieving has bred irresponsibility and inaction.
Finally, she added that the world should “stop the hypocrisy” and act decisively in the fight against terrorism, gazeta.ru reported.
Yarovaya's comments join statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, all of whom stressed the need to seek out terrorism wherever it is found and meet it with force.
The so-called “Yarovaya law” signed into law by Putin last week increases the Russian government's powers of surveillance, strengthens punishments for inciting or justifying terrorism online and requires mobile carriers to store customers' data for six months.
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