Moscow, 17 June 1997 (RFE/RL) -- The Kremlin announced today that President Boris Yelsin has annulled a decree that gave police the right to detain citizens up to 30 days without criminal charges.
Intended to give police extra powers to fight organized crime, the 1994 decree had been criticized by Russian and foreign human rights groups which said it contradicted the constitution and allowed for police abuse.
Police now have the right to detain crime suspects for up to 10 days without filing charges.
The Interfax news agency quotes a Kremlin spokesmen (unnamed) as saying that Yeltsin annulled the earlier decree on Saturday.
Intended to give police extra powers to fight organized crime, the 1994 decree had been criticized by Russian and foreign human rights groups which said it contradicted the constitution and allowed for police abuse.
Police now have the right to detain crime suspects for up to 10 days without filing charges.
The Interfax news agency quotes a Kremlin spokesmen (unnamed) as saying that Yeltsin annulled the earlier decree on Saturday.