MOSCOW, February 1 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Foreign Ministry Thursday called statements by the U.S.-based human rights organization Freedom House that Russia suppresses civil liberties "absurd."
"The absurdity of such an evaluation leaves no place for comment," the ministry's information and press department said.
The Washington-based non-profit organization released Wednesday night a chart showing how countries observed civil liberties and political rights in 2006.
On the scale of civil liberties, Russia was placed alongside North Korea, Cuba and Libya, and on the scale of political rights, on a par with Angola, Gabon and Pakistan, receiving the lowest grades on both scales.
On the whole, Russia was rated in the Freedom Rating category as "Not Free."
