Putin's stab in the dark

The BBC quotes Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying, "They (Estonian police) didn't just disperse demonstrators. They killed one demonstrator. We demand that the criminals be brought to account."

It's an extraordinary assertion and one for which no evidence has been presented to the best of my knowledge. To the contrary, it was widely reported the man died of a stab-wound, which is hardly consistent with the theory that he was killed by the police. No one, least of all a person in Putin's position, should make such unsupported accusations at a time when tensions are still running high.

Here's what the victim's mother had to say:

At the funeral in Mustvee yesterday of Dmitri Ganin (20), the man stabbed to death during last week’s riots in Tallinn, the mother of the late Mr Ganin made a plea to the Russian Consul, members of Nochnoi Dozor, Russian TV-stations, and those present at the funeral not to use her son's death for propaganda purposes.

No sale with Vladimir, I guess.