Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Russian opposition leader is questioned by security agency

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published April 21, 2007

MOSCOW - Garry Kasparov answered his cell phone in an elevator Friday afternoon and his expression froze.

The 44-year-old chess grandmaster, locked in the political match of his life with Russian President Vladimir Putin, was told that prosecutors had instructed him to come in today.

Kasparov's aggressive style on the chessboard and his refusal to settle for a draw earned him a series of world championships. But he's aware that a blunder in this struggle with the Kremlin could cost him dearly.

"It's getting dangerous," he told the Associated Press as his driver wove through Moscow traffic. "We have to be careful."

An aide, Marina Litvinovich, later said prosecutors probably weren't preparing criminal charges, adding that they might be reacting to a request from lawmakers for an investigation into Kasparov's detention at an anti-Putin rally in Moscow a week ago.

But the call was a chilling reminder of the risks he faces.

Kasparov was among the chief organizers of last weekend's Dissenters' Marches, at which participants were charged and beaten by truncheon-wielding riot police. He was arrested at the Moscow protest and held for hours while his supporters demanded his release.

On Tuesday, he received a summons from investigators at the Federal Security Service, or FSB, the main successor of the Soviet-era KGB secret police.

Around 2 p.m. Friday, Kasparov emerged from four hours of FSB questioning and told reporters that authorities were trying to decide whether to charge him with political extremism.

Investigators, he said, asked about statements he recently made to a radio station and articles in a newspaper published by his opposition group, the United Civil Front, ahead of the protests.

Kasparov called investigators' suspicions groundless. "They have no hook to proceed with criminal charges, but today in Russia, we know that nobody is safe," he said.

The Moscow branch of the FSB confirmed that its investigators met with Kasparov, but refused further comment.

[Last modified April 21, 2007, 02:31:15]