Tight Sochi Security Regime Raises Rights Concerns

MOSCOW -- The organizers of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi have introduced some of the most extensive identity checks and sweeping security measures ever seen at an international sports event, raising concerns that they are stifling dissent and violating privacy under the pretext of fulfilling their pledge to make the games "the safest Olympics in history."
Russian security agencies have developed a massive surveillance system that critics say will allow them to intercept any phone calls and Internet traffic, with a particular emphasis on Sochi.
Russia’s communications surveillance system, SORM, the Russian acronym for the System of Operative Investigative Measures, has required all telecom providers to install equipment that feeds all traffic directly to security agencies. Their officers are required by law to have a court sanction for eavesdropping, but they don’t have to show it to anyone.
Official papers have suggested that the SORM system in Sochi has been modernized to cope with the heavy flow of communications during the games, but officials have said little about the details.
Earlier this year, the Communications Ministry issued a directive urging all communications companies to introduce new equipment capable of intercepting mail traffic on Gmail and Yahoo.
The Russian government also has invested heavily into other means of surveillance, installing some 5,500 closed-circuit cameras throughout Sochi and buying a fleet of drones. The drones could be particularly handy for quickly spotting anyone attempting to break an official ban on protest in Sochi.
Months before the games, security agencies have moved to expel some of those whom they consider unwelcome. In particular, police have conducted sweeping document checks among thousands of migrant workers who were recruited to build Olympic facilities and deported many, drawing criticism from rights groups.
Critics compared the measures to the Soviet actions ahead of the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow, when the KGB simply sent all those deemed suspicious out of the capital.
Police in Sochi have conducted methodical house-to-house checks to screen residents and advised those who lack permanent registration in the city to leave.
Meaning?
Absolutely nothing gay supportive or anything that might even marginally defy their anti-gay bigotry will make it out of Sochi.
This will be the most white washed Olympics in history and even if gay athletes win any medals, you'll never know they were gay.