Vladimir Putin's bid to return to the Kremlin threatens political reform in Russia, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Sunday.
Putin's announcement last September that he was running again for the presidency president this year ‘cast a shadow over the prospect of much-needed political reform’, the rights group said in a statement.
Many analysts believe Putin's return to the presidency is a foregone conclusion. President from 2000 to 2008 and now prime minister, he aims to return to the job in the March 4 election.
Although Putin is wrestling with the worst legitimacy crisis since coming to power, his advisors say he remains Russia's most popular politician despite the recent outburst of protest against his rule.
But New York-based HRW said it was troubled by numerous rights issues in Russia, including the crackdowns at widespread protests following the country's December 4 legislative elections.
"The right to freedom of assembly remains problematic in Russia," the group said. "Police use excessive force and arbitrarily detain peaceful protesters.
The group also faulted the government’s refusal to register new political parties ahead of the December elections and criticised them for having limited external monitoring of the vote.
In 2011 as in previous elections, it said: "Pro-government parties benefitted from disproportionate access to media and abuse of administrative resources, resulting again in an uncompetitive electoral environment."
"Aggressive racism" continued to rise and human rights defenders are working in an increasingly hostile environment, it added.
Press freedom was also suffering: HRW singled out the case of journalist Anna Politkovskaya's 2006 killing and a lack of official information indicating who ordered the assassination.
"Other investigations into attacks on independent journalists have been largely ineffective," the group said.
A government spokesman was not immediately available for comment late Sunday.