Putin Sees ‘Double Standard’ in US Capitol Riot Prosecutions

Vladimir Putin, the Russian President has indicted the US of double standards pertaining to how she treated the Capitol rioters.

While prosecuting Americans with political demands, Putin said it was wrong for the US to criticize crackdowns on anti-government protests overseas.

 Mr. Putin set expectations low for his summit with US President, Joe Biden in Geneva, Switzerland in his words at a business forum in St Petersburg.

He made it clear that anticipates no breakthroughs when they meet on 16 June. Mr. Putin also rebuffed tip-offs that recent cyber-attacks on US companies came from Russia, and also rejected accusations that Moscow had intervened in American elections.

Mr. Putin reserved some of his most stinging criticism for US condemnation of a crackdown on anti-government protests by Moscow’s regional ally, Belarus. He hit back by suggesting the US Capitol rioters were being treated unfairly.

“They weren’t just a crowd of robbers and rioters,” Mr. Putin said of the Trump supporters who stormed Congress on 6 January and temporarily suspended a session to certify Mr. Biden as the winner of last November’s election. “Those people had come with political demands.”

When the forum moderator at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum suggested Mr. Putin’s comments about the Capitol riot could see him banned from US social media platforms, the Russian leader drew applause from the audience by retorting: “I don’t give a damn about being blocked somewhere.”

Earlier this week, Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov said the Capitol rioters were being persecuted by the US government.

Some 500 suspects have been arrested for the riot, most of them charged with remaining or entering in a restricted building or grounds. Many have been released pending trial, but some are being held in solitary confinement.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a member of Mr. Biden’s Democratic party,  has said some of the defendants were being made to face cruel treatment.

Mr. Putin also blamed the West for its criticism of Russian authorities’ response to anti-Kremlin demonstrations, including jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Opposition protests across Russia earlier this year were suppressed with crackdowns. Riot police were seen beating and dragging protesters away, while thousands of people were detained.

The Russian leader told business leaders that protesters in Europe have faced an even tougher police response, with some shot in the eye by what he mockingly called democratic rubber bullets.

It is not clear what President Putin was referring to, but several French demonstrators were blinded by rubber bullets fired by police during the so-called yellow vest rallies that began in late 2018.