Russia Admits Higher COVID-19 Deathtoll Amid Journalist Detentions

(Worthy News) – Russian authorities claim more people have died of the coronavirus disease COVID-19 than they previously disclosed.

The admission follows mounting criticism that officials deliberately underestimated the virus-related death-toll. Russia’s government is also facing accusations of misusing the pandemic to suppress dissent by detaining journalists and other critics.

The Moscow Heath Department reported that 1,561 people died from COVID-19 – not 639 as initially announced. With nearly 8,600 new recorded infections, Russia has the third-highest number in the world of almost 388,000 cases, authorities say. The official number of deaths approached 4,400 people.

Moscow-based journalists had questioned the official statistics saying the numbers were too low. But they were accused of fake news and distortion. A group of well-known Russian journalists was detained in Moscow on Thursday as they participated in single-person protests over a 15-day jail term handed down to a colleague.

Council of Europe Rights Commissioner Dunja Mijatovic said she was “greatly dismayed” and called for their release. The journalists held single pickets – the only protest allowed without authorities’ approval. They accused police of using the COVID-19 outbreak to crackdown on government critics.

The reporters detained mostly work for independent media outlets. Most have now been freed, but charged with various offenses. Besides arrests in Moscow, detentions of government critics have also been reported in St.Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city.

It comes while Russian President Vladimir Putin faces growing social unrest over the economic impact of the pandemic and other increasingly criticized policies.

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