00:05, 8 February 2014

Ecologist Igor Kharchenko arrested in Krasnodar goes on hunger strike

Activist of the "EcoWatch" Igor Kharchenko in police car, Krasnodar, February 4, 2014. Photo provided by "Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus", http://ewnc.org/node/13505/

Igor Kharchenko, an activist of the "Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus", who was sentenced to five days of administrative arrest, has gone on hunger strike.

Let us remind you that Igor Kharchenko was detained in Krasnodar on February 4. On the following day, the court found him guilty of disobeying the police and arrested him for five days.

By announcing a hunger strike, Igor Kharchenko expresses his protest against the detention, which he treats as illegal, and the court's decision, which he has perceived as unfair, the "RBC-Kuban" reported on February 7 with reference to Anna Mitrenko, a member of the Public Oversight Commission of the KrasnodarTerritory.

In the opinion of the human rights organization "Amnesty International" (AI), the circumstances of Igor Kharchenko's prosecution make him a "prisoner of conscience".

After reviewing the video record of Kharchenko's detention, the AI has concluded that the obtained materials are contradictory to the police's statements about the alleged resistance rendered by the activist, says the AI's release posted on February 5 on the website of the organization.