Ferguson Unrest Indicates ‘Ruptures’ in US Society: Ombudsman

Washington should therefore "start with itself" and tackle its own social woes first before "mentoring" other nations on human rights and rule of law, Russian human rights ombudsman said.

MOSCOW, December 3 (Sputnik) — The waves of nationwide protests that have engulfed the United States following the killing of an unarmed African-American teenager in Ferguson is an indication of deepening social fissures in American society, Russia's ombudsman for human rights, freedom and rule of law said Wednesday.

"We have already said that what has been going on in Ferguson and some other American cities in the past few weeks rings a very serious alarm bell for US authorities. It indicates ruptures in US society on racial and ethnic grounds; conflicts, lines of tension are far from disappearing, they are in fact getting deeper," Konstantin Dolgov said at a conference in Moscow.

Dolgov stressed that Washington should therefore "start with itself" and tackle its own social woes first before "mentoring" other nations on human rights and rule of law.

"These problems require a great deal of attention from authorities… We expect Washington to heed this call and make certain conclusions," the rights ombudsman said.

Riots flared in the US town of Ferguson in St. Louis County, Missouri, following the fatal shooting of 18-year-old unarmed Michael Brown by a white police officer in August. A second wave of unrest swept 180 cities and 38 states in the United States after the grand jury's decision not to bring charges against law enforcer Darren Wilson who shot him.