Medvedev lets protester speak out

12 Dec, 2008 10:58 / Updated 15 years ago

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was interrupted by a protester during his speech at the Kremlin to mark the fifteenth anniversary of the country's constitution.

In his speech, Medvedev repeated his commitment to safeguarding basic human rights and freedoms and defended the decision to extend the presidential term from four years to six. As Medvedev was speaking, a man began shouting his opposition to the recent extension of presidential and parliamentary terms. Security officers bundled the man away but the president intervened, “No, no… Let the man stay and listen…  The constitution has been adopted so that everyone has the right to express his own stance. It is a stance. And it can be respected.” It was later discovered that the protester was Roman Dobrokhotov, a journalist from the 'Chastny Korrespondent' internet portal. According to some reports, he is one of the founders of 'My' (“Us”), a  youth opposition movement. Other stories: Informal press conference spiced with would-be scandal Canadian PM’s speechwriter quits over plagiarism scandal