In Tuapse, four ecologists sentenced to administrative arrest

Today, the Tuapse Magistrate Court, chaired by Judge Maxim Dubov of Precinct No. 217, has passed a verdict of guilty to the members of the "Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus", detained next to the "summer cottage" of the Governor of the Krasnodar Territory Alexander Tkachov.

All the four ecologists were sentenced to arrest under Article 19.3 of the Administrative Code "disobedience to militiamen". Evgeniy Vitishko was sentenced to 10 days, and Dmitry Shevchenko, Suren Gazaryan and Zufar Achilov - to 7 days of administrative arrest.

Andrei Filimonov, another member of the "Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus", said that the judge ordered not to let other members of the "Ecological Watch" to the open court session. Only after activists appealed to the Chairman of the Tuapse Court and began calling the Territorial Court, they were let to the session.

Andrei Filimonov also noted that the court imposed "their" advocate to the activists, although they all challenged him and declared mistrust, asking to admit the lawyer of the "Ecological Watch" to the trial.

"The judge behaved with prejudice; he rejected all the motions of the defence. It seemed that he followed some order," said Andrei Rudomakha, coordinator of the "Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus".

"Apparently, they want to punish activists in this way and discourage them for the future," he added.

Let us remind you that the detention of ecologists and human rights activists from Moscow, Krasnodar, Gelendzhik, Tuapse and Sochi took place around the midday on February 27, when they held a picnic in the territory of the forest fund, where they got after cutting down some illegal, in their opinion, fencing.

Mr Rudomakha explained that in total 19 persons were detained, not 24 and not 16, as had been reported by other detainees and militiamen. Several hours later, all of them, but four ecologists, were released. The remaining four were kept at the Dzhubga village militia station; and at about 1 a.m. they were transported to the IVS (temporary detention facility) in Tuapse and charged of disobedience to lawful demands of militiamen.

Victor Chirikov, a member of the regional political board of the "Solidarity" movement, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that he had applied to the militia because license plates were stolen from his car.

"When we were detained by members of a private security firm, they threatened to burn our cars. When we asked militiamen for a permit to drive them to some other place, they didn't allow that. When about seven o'clock in the evening we were released from the militia station, we returned to take our cars and found that wheel nipples were screwed out; and license plates were taken away from my car and Suren Gazaryan's one," said Chirikov.

Earlier, Suren Gazaryan had stated that he and his colleagues made no violations; on the contrary, they became witnesses of violations of the law - cutting of rare Pitsunda pine trees in the forest fund.