Putin defends Russia's human rights record

Under pressure from the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday defended his country's human rights record, lauding a draconian bill hiking fines for unsanctioned street rallies and claiming that Russia has no political prisoners.

Grilled by a reporter about his crackdown on the opposition, Putin said at an EU summit in St. Petersburg that the country's controversial law on rallies is "democratic" and claimed it was similar to legislation in Europe. (AP)