RA’s Daily Russia News Blast – Aug 4, 2011
TODAY: Prokhorov’s election campaign overshadowed by nationalist support; riverboat tragedies spark fleet check; arrest of United Russia lawmaker sought; Magnitsky evidence falsified, says lawyer; U.N. Libya statement nods to Russia; Medvedev and Obama discuss WTO accession; pianist Petrov has died.
Mikhail Prokhorov’s election campaign to garner support for his Right Cause party has apparently attracted a lot of nationalist supporters, forcing the party to make a statement refuting their membership. In response to the two recent riverboat tragedies, prosecutors have compiled a list of things that threaten safety on Russia’s waterways – many ships are not subject to regular inspections; some sport counterfeit software. Interpol is seeking the arrest of a former United Russia lawmaker over accusations regarding sham mortgages. Lawyers for Sergei Magnitsky’s mother say that evidence relating to his death has been falsified with the inclusion of ‘a new disease, which has no medical evidence’.