WHEN: TODAY, MONDAY, AUGUST 20TH
WHERE: CNBC’S “CLOSING BELL WITH MARIA BARTIROMO”
Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC interview with Garry Kasparov, Founder of the United Civil Front of Russia, today on CNBC’s “Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo.” Following is a link to the video of the interview on CNBC.com: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000110497&play=1.
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
BARTIROMO: AND GARRY KASPAROV JOINS ME NOW IN AN EXCLUSIVE OVER THE TELEPHONE FROM RUSSIA. GARRY, THANKS VERY MUCH FOR TALKING TO US TODAY. YOU SAY RUSSIAN POLICE BRUTALLY BEAT YOU AND NOW YOU'RE PLANNINGLEGAL ACTION AGAINST THE OFFICER WHO ALLEGEDLY ATTACKED YOU. CAN YOU TELL US WHAT HAPPENED?
KASPAROV: YES, MARIA. THANKS FOR INVITING ME. I WAS LISTENING TO THE PASSIONATE DEBATE ABOUT GOOGLE MONSTER. I HOPE THAT ONE DAY IN RUSSIA WE CAN HAVE THE SAME DEBATE ABOUT PROTECTING OUR PRIVACY. BECAUSE NOW WE'RE DEALING WITH SOMETHING MUCH DARKER AND MORE DANGEROUS. RUSSIAN MOBILE OPERATORS EVEN CHARGE US FOR THE CALLS THEY PAY TO PROVIDE ALL AVAILABLE DATA FROM US TO KGB. SO IT STILL A VERY DIFFERENT WORLD FOR THOSE WHO THINK THAT RUSSIA HAS JOINED ALREADY THE FAMILY OF CIVILIZED NATION. AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE TAPE, I WAS LUCKY THAT EVERY SPLIT OF THE SECOND OF THE ACTION WAS RECORDED BY NUMEROUS JOURNALISTS' CAMERAS THAT FOLLOWED ME IN ALL THESE VERY DANGEROUS MOMENTS. AND I WAS UNLAWFULLY ARRESTED. OR MAYBE I WOULD SAY ABDUCTED BY PEOPLE WEARING POLICE UNIFORM. TAKEN BY -- BY THEM INTO THE POLICE VAN. AND WHEN I TRIED TO LEAVE THE VAN, BECAUSE THEY NEVER TOLD ME WHY I WAS ARRESTED, ON WHAT GROUNDS, THEY JUST REPEATED ONE WORD. ORDER, ORDER, ORDER. WHEN I TRIED TO LEAVE THE VAN, I WAS BADLY BEATEN AND THROWN BACK INTO THE VAN. AND LATER SITTING AT THE POLICE STATION, WAITING FOR THEM TO FILE THE REPORTS WHERE THEY LIED, YOU KNOW, FROM A TO Z IN EVERY ELEMENT OF THIS ACCIDENT, I LEARNED THAT ONE OF THE POLICE OFFICERS, HE WOULD ACCUSE ME OF BITING HIS EITHER FINGER OR HAND.
BARTIROMO: WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT VIDEO RIGHT NOW. WE'VE GOT A CIRCLE AROUND THAT OFFICER WHO YOU SAY HIT YOU. AND WHO'S NOW SAYING THAT YOU BIT HIS HAND. DID YOU BITE HIM?
KASPAROV: ABSOLUTELY NOT, MARIA. IF I'M TO TASTE HUMAN FLESH, I WOULDN'T BITE ANYONE UNDER THE RANK OF GENERAL.
BARTIROMO: GARRY, DO YOU THINK, IS THIS A NEW RUSSIA NOW UNDER PUTIN? TELL ME HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED FROM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, PUTIN, I
GUESS, IN SOME CASES, SOME PEOPLE WOULD SAY HAS ALWAYS BEEN IN CHARGE. BUT HAVE THINGS TURNED EVEN WORSE NOW THAT HE'S BACK IN THE PRESIDENT'S SEAT?
KASPAROV: IT'S -- IT'S RATHER OLD RUSSIA THAN NEW RUSSIA. WE COULD SEE THE IDEALIST PICTURES OF THE PAST THAT WE THOUGHT HAVE GONE ALREADY AND BELONG TO THE HISTORY. UNFORTUNATELY HISTORY IS VERY MUCH ALIVE NOW AND REALLY BITING US. BITING US EVERY DAY. JUST IMAGINE THAT IF GARRY KASPAROV COULD BE ARRESTED IN THE CENTER OF THE CITY FOR JUST DOING AN INTERVIEW WITH ALL THE JOURNALISTS SURROUNDING ME AND HAVING ALL THIS VIDEOTAPE, ALL THE PICTURES, I'M STILL UNDER THREAT OF BEING – OF BEING CHARGED WITH THIS RIDICULOUS CRIME. IMAGINE WHAT HAPPENS WITH ORDINARY RUSSIANS. THEY ARE DAILY VICTIMS OF THE POLICE BRUTALITIES. RUSSIA TODAY IS TURNED INTO LAWLESS JUNGLES. ANYBODY, EVEN FOREIGN COMPANIES WHO ARE TRYING TO DO BUSINESS HERE, THEY CAN BE SUBJECT FOR ILLEGAL TREATMENT BECAUSE RUSSIAN LEGAL SYSTEM WORKS ONLY FOR THOSE IN POWER.
BARTIROMO: WHAT DOES THIS SENTENCING OF THIS BAND SAY ABOUT THE RULE OF LAW IN RUSSIA? YOU'RE MAKING THE CASE OF ABOUT SORT OF THE LACK OF RULE OF LAW IN TERMS OF INDIVIDUALS AND EVEN CORPORATES WHO WANT TO PUT MONEY INTO RUSSIA?
KASPAROV: ABSOLUTELY. AND THE VERDICT OF THIS BAND GROUP WHO MADE IT – SOME SAY MAYBE ACT OF HOOLIGANISM. I THINK IT WAS LEGITIMATE POLITICAL PROTEST. THEY SENTENCED FOR TWO YEARS IN PRISON FOR JUST, YOU KNOW, SINGING A SONG AGAINST VLADIMIR PUTIN. ANYTHING THAT YOU DO AGAINST PUTIN, YOU KNOW, COULD END UP WITH A PRISON TERM. I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT IF THEY -- IF THE SAME THING BY JUST PRAISING PUTIN AND ASKING GOD TO PROTECT HIM, NOTHING WOULD BE DONE AGAINST THEM.
BARTIROMO: GARRY, WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING THERE? WE'VE SEEN THE FATES OF OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE TRIED TO FIGHT PUTIN. AND YOU'RE THERE ON THE PHONE TALKING TO US. ARE YOU SCARED?
KASPAROV: LOOK, I BELIEVE EVERYBODY IS SCARED, YOU KNOW. PEOPLE WITHOUT FEAR ARE PROBABLY LYING TO YOU. BECAUSE WE ALL HAVE OPEN THREATS IN RUSSIA. WE HAVE TO -- WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH THEM. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I CAN ENJOY SOME SORT OF THE PROTECTION BECAUSE OF MY FAME. AND I'VE GOT DOZENS AND DOZENS AND DOZENS OF E-MAILS, CALLS, LETTERS OF SUPPORT AND A STORY RUN ON THE FRONT PAGES OF MANY NEWSPAPERS. AND I THINK ABOUT MANY RUSSIAN POLITICAL ACTIVISTS OR JUST ORDINARY RUSSIANS WHO ARE SUFFERING FROM THE POLICE BRUTALITIES, FROM INJUSTICE FROM PUTIN'S REGIME, HAVING NO PROTECTION WHATSOEVER. I THINK THAT SITUATION HAS BEEN CHANGING QUITE RAPIDLY. AND PUTIN NO LONGER ENJOYS THE SAME LEVEL OF PUBLIC SUPPORT. AND I THINK ANY TIME, LITERALLY ANY TIME, THINGS CAN EXPLODE HERE.
BARTIROMO: SO YOU SAY HE DOESN'T ENJOY THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC SUPPORT. YET HE HAS HIS POLICE FORCE OUT IN FORCE ARRESTING PEOPLE WHO GO AGAINST HIM. WHAT'S YOUR TAKE IN TERMS OF HOW THIS PLAYS OUT? AND WHERE DOES YOUR CASE STAND RIGHT NOW IN TERMS OF BITING THE OFFICER, IN TERMS OF ANY CHARGES THAT THEY HAVE AGAINST YOU?
KASPAROV: LOOK, I DON'T HAVE A CRYSTAL BALL TO TELL YOU WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IN RUSSIA IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. BUT I BELIEVE THAT THAT CANNOT LAST FOREVER. AND THESE DRASTIC ACTIONS AGAINST OPPOSITION AND ORDINARY RUSSIANS DEMONSTRATE A REGIME THAT DOESN'T FEEL THE SAME CONFIDENCE AS A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN THEY COULD BE MORE CAUTIOUS IN APPLYING BRUTE FORCE. AS FOR MY OWN CASE, TODAY I WAS QUESTIONED AT THE POLICE STATION. I PRESENTED MY VERSION OF THE EVENTS. ALSO SUBMITTING THE VIDEO MATERIALS. AS I SAID, I HAVE EVERY SPLIT OF A SECOND RECORDED WHICH CLEARLY SHOWS THAT THE HAND OF THIS POLICE OFFICER VIRTUALLY CLEAN AT THE TIME WHEN I WAS THROWN INTO THE POLICE VAN. AND TOMORROW I'M GOING TO SUBMIT, FILE MY OWN COMPLAINT DEMANDING CRIMINAL -- TO PRESS CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST POLICE OFFICERS WHO ARRESTED ME ILLEGALLY AND ALSO AGAINST THIS POLICE OFFICER WHO ACCUSED ME, PRESSING LIBEL CHARGES.
BARTIROMO: WE WILL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU AFTER YOU GET THOSE RESULTS. WE'LL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW YOUR STORY AND BRING IT ON THE AIR,
GARRY: THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
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