Evgeny Vitishko's prosecution is politically motivated, say picketers in Moscow

The ruling passed on the case of Evgeny Vitishko, an activist of the "Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus" (EcoWatch), is politically motivated; while sending Vitishko to a colony-settlement has to do with his participation in preparing a report on the environmental damage inflicted during the preparation of the city-resort Sochi for the Olympics, said the participants of the action in support of the ecologist, held in Moscow.

Sergey Vinogradov, a member of the "Yabloko" Party, believes that the inscription "Sasha is a thief" made on the "non-existent fence of the non-existent summer cottage" of Governor Tkachov was correct, while Vitishko and Gazaryan are prosecuted "for the truth."

"The EcoWatch was preparing a report on the damage caused by the construction of Olympic facilities. Vitishko was one of the authors of the study, for which he was arrested. Vitishko as an ecologist; and he could tell the Western press about the damage. The arrest is a way to shut him up," Sergey Vinogradov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This occurs during the Olympics, which "cease to be a holiday and becomes a national tragedy," said Evgenia Chirikova, the organizer of the picket, the leader of the movement "Ecological Defence of Moscow Region" (EcoDefence) and the "Movement in Defence of Khimki Forest".

"The Games will be remembered not by the number of gold medals won by Russia, but by the ecologist's imprisonment," Ms Chirikova told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.