11:30, 24 September 2014

Krasnodar Territorial Court leaves Evgeny Vitishko in colony

Poster "Freedom to ecologist Evgeny Vitishko". A solo picket, Moscow, February 2014. Photo http://freevitishko.org/ru/?page_id=40

The Krasnodar Regional Court has rejected the presentation of the Prosecutor's Office asking to change the punishment of Evgeny Vitishko, a member of the "Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus" (EcoWatch), and upheld the verdict of the Tuapse District Court, said Andrei Rudomakha, the coordinator of the EcoWatch.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Evgeny Vitishko was accused of damaging the fence around the territory known as "summer cottage" of Alexander Tkachov, the Governor of the Krasnodar Territory. On June 20, 2012, the ecologist was sentenced to three years of conditional imprisonment, but in December 2013 the above District Court replaced the conditional by real imprisonment and sent Vitishko to a settlement-colony in the Tambov Region, where he is serving his term. The Prosecutor's Office made a presentation to quash the Tuapse District Court's ruling in connection to Vitishko.

Let us note here that the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" put Vitishko on the list of political prisoners.

Author: Natalya Dorokhina

Source: CK correspondent