Actions in support of Gazaryan, Vitishko and Dutlov held in Krasnodar and Sochi

The Krasnodar Territory has hosted actions in support of Suren Gazaryan and Evgeniy Vitishko, activists of the "Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus", and their lawyer Victor Dutlov. Twelve solo pickets took place in Krasnodar; and the picket in Sochi was about 50 persons strong.

The central street of Krasnodar – Krasnaya Street – was the venue of 12 solo pickets. Each picketer held posters with slogans calling to halt the persecution of ecologists in the Krasnodar Territory and stop the destruction of nature. The actions passed without detentions, but under scrutiny of local administration and the police.

The picket in Sochi was held at 1-3 p.m. near the Central Department Store and brought together about 50 people. Apart from supporting Gazaryan and Dutlov, the protesters voiced their support to the human rights activist Sergey Basmanov, against whom two criminal cases have been initiated on accusations of beating – he is under threat of 2-5 years of imprisonment.

The ecologists explained to passers-by that the people, who are fighting against corruption in the bodies of power, are kept in prison. Other activists held posters expressing protest against political repressions. Bright posters with Gazaryan's portrait read: "Five years for non-existent fence?", "Freedom to Gazaryan and Dutlov!", "Tkachov! Bring the forest back!", "Freedom to people and ecologists!" "No to political persecution of activists!"; "Hands off rights defender Basmanov!" and others.

Actions in support of Gazaryan, Vitishko and Dutlov were held today in different cities of Russia and even abroad. In particular, pickets had been planned in Moscow, St Petersburg, Sochi, Tuapse, Rostov-on-Don, Volgograd, Maikop, Barnaul, Blagoveshchensk, Kirov, Krasnoyarsk, Lipetsk, Odintsovo, Nizhny Novgorod, Ulan-Ude, Chelyabinsk, and also in Kharkiv and London. During the rally in Moscow, according to various sources, from 20 to 50 activists were detained.