In Moscow, Big Brother is watching and recognising protesters

People holding a Russian flag during the opposition rally in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Moscow, Russia, on April 21, 2021. Police across Russia have detained large numbers of people in connection with demonstrations in support of Navalny, according to a human rights group. — AP

Officials hailed Moscow’s massive facial-recognition camera network as a benign aid to residents that would enforce quarantine restrictions, catch criminals and even let them pay subway fares. Now it’s being deployed to crush dissent against President Vladimir Putin.

Police tapped the surveillance system to identify and detain dozens of people who attended last week’s protests in the Russian capital in support of jailed Kremlin foe Alexey Navalny. More than 50 were picked up over the following days, including several journalists, according to OVD-Info, an independent human-rights monitoring group that gathers information on detentions.