The warning to “remain attentive” regarding “personal security at all times,” comes amid rising reports of terrorism in the region and less than a month before the global games are set to start.
Since October, there have been three suicide bombings that left dozens of Russians dead in the streets of Volgograd, include two attacks last month, the State Department said.
U.S. counter-terrorism experts say their worries are escalating because Russian authorities are refusing to accept offers from Americans to help secure the games.
The Olympic and Paralympic Games will take place in Sochi, starting Feb. 7 to March 16, 2014. The travel alert expires March 24, 2014.
- The State Department alert also said U.S. citizens should avoid large crowds and to use caution in any areas where protests or demonstrations are taking place.
The alert also drew attention to a July 2013 web posting from Doku Umarov, the head of the Caucasus Emirate (an organization the United States designated as a terrorist organization in 2010, and known in Russian as the Imirat Kavkaz or IK). In it, he rescinding prior directives not to attack civilians during the Sochi Olympics.
The State Department also warned Americans to be wary of common criminal activity, which tends to rise at most large gatherings around the world.
- The alert also advised lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans to review the State Department's LGBT travel information page if they plan to visit Sochi for the Games, noting that Russia has in place a law that bans the "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations" to minors. It said authorities have been vague about defining "propaganda" and that the law applies to foreigners.
A conviction on the charge could result in a fine, a jail term and deportation.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/01/10/state-department-issues-travel-alert-for-sochi-ahead-olympic-games/
10/1/14
--
-
Related:
Έντονη ανησυχία των ΗΠΑ για την ασφάλεια των χειμερινών Ολυμπιακών Αγώνων στο Σότσι
Οι ΗΠΑ προσφέρουν στη Ρωσία υποστήριξη για την προετοιμασία των Ολυμπιακών Αγώνων
Olympische Winterspiele USA warnen vor Terrorgefahr in Sotschi....
Sécurité des JO 2014: le CIO confiant malgré les attentats de Volgograd
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
Nach Anschlägen: USA veröffentlichen Reisewarnung für Russland.....
ReplyDeleteDie USA haben eine Reisewarnung für Russland ausgesprochen – doch nicht nur wegen den Gesetzen zu homosexueller Propaganda: Die medizinische Versorgung in Sotschi sei dem Großereignis möglicherweise nicht gewachsen.
WashingtonVier Wochen vor Beginn der Olympischen Winterspiele in Sotschi haben die USA Russland-Reisende vor Terrorismus, Kriminalität und den Gesetzen zu homosexueller Propaganda gewarnt. Zudem sei die medizinische Versorgung in der Olympiastadt dem Großereignis möglicherweise nicht gewachsen und unterscheide sich deutlich von westlichen Standards, teilte das US-Außenamt am Freitag in Washington mit. Die Reisewarnung sei bis eine Woche nach dem Ende der Winterspiele am 16. März gültig................http://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/-nach-anschlaegen-usa-veroeffentlichen-reisewarnung-fuer-russland-/9318048.html
10/1/14
Russia Names Small Town Outside Sochi as Olympic Protest Zone....
ReplyDeleteSOCHI, January 10 (R-Sport) – A town 12 kilometers from Russia’s Olympic venues in Sochi will host a so-called “protest zone” during the Winter Games, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak said Friday.
A park in the small coastal resort of Khosta will be set aside for demonstrations that have been approved by local authorities, the police and security services during the Olympics and Paralympics.
The town of around 20,000 was chosen after President Vladimir Putin lifted a ban on protests earlier this month and ordered a site for demonstrations to be identified.
Khosta, on the road between Sochi and the Olympic Park, is around 12 kilometers from the nearest Games arenas. It is not clear whether a similar zone will be set up near the Mountain Cluster of snow sports venues.
“At Khosta in the park people will be able to freely express their opinion without breaching the rights of other citizens and without breaching the Olympic charter,” Kozak said.
“At the sports arena, at the sports facilities, in compliance with the Olympic charter, expressing political opinions is forbidden.”
Russia’s state human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin defended the choice of Khosta, saying it was easy to reach.
“It’s possible to travel there by car, by bus or on the train from the center of Sochi, or from the sports center,” he said. “So if people want to exchange opinions and express their views on any topic, they can do it easily.”
The Sochi Olympics have attracted protests from groups opposed to a controversial Russian law banning so-called “propaganda” of gay relationships to minors, as well as from representatives of the Circassian people, who inhabited.................http://en.ria.ru/sochi2014/20140111/186401221/Russia-Names-Small-Town-Outside-Sochi-as-Olympic-Protest-Zone.html
10/1/14
'We will give you a present': video posted by militant group threatens Sochi Olympics....
ReplyDeleteWith the Sochi Winter Olympics less than three weeks away, an Islamic militant group has posted a video warning of a “surprise package” awaiting tourists at the Games.
In a video posted online Sunday, two men reportedly tied to a militant group known as Vilayat Dagestan warn President Vladimir Putin that if the games are held, ‘we will give you a present for the innocent Muslim blood being spilled around the world.”
The Russian-speaking men add that “for the tourists who come, there will be a present too.”..........http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/we-will-give-you-a-present-video-posted-by-militant-group-threatens-sochi-olympics-1.1646361#ixzz2qvJFmqTe
19/1/14
Islamic militants threaten to strike tourists at Sochi Olympics ....
ReplyDeleteAn Islamic militant group in Russia’s North Caucasus, Vilayat Dagestan, claimed responsibility Sunday for twin suicide bombings in the southern city of Volgograd last month and posted a video threatening to strike the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, the National Post reports.
In the video, two Russian-speaking men warned President Vladimir Putin that “If you hold these Olympics, we will give you a present for the innocent Muslim blood being spilled all around the world: In Afghanistan, in Somalia, in Syria.”
They added that “for the tourists who come, there will be a present, too.” The video claims that the two men, identified as Suleiman and Abdurakhman, were the suicide bombers and purports to show the explosives being prepared and strapped to their bodies. There was no immediate reaction to the video from the Russian security services.
Read more: http://indian.ruvr.ru/news/2014_01_20/Islamic-militants-threaten-to-strike-tourists-at-Sochi-Olympics-7920/
20/1/13