Defence of ecologist Evgeny Vitishko asks for CER for him

A petition for conditional early relief (CER) of the convicted ecologist from Krasnodar Evgeny Vitishko has been sent to the court.

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.

Evgeny Vitishko has served one-third of his term; therefore, he has the right to ask for CER, said his advocate Sergey Loktev.

He noted that today he has sent a petition for the CER of the ecologist to the Kirsanovsky District Court of the Tambov Region; and tomorrow, on February 18, Vitishko will also submit a similar petition.

"Later, the court will unite both petitions into one proceeding; and I think that in late February – early March it will rule on the case," the RAPSI quotes Sergey Loktev as saying.

On February 18, the anniversary of Vitishko's convoying to the colony, rights defenders decided to demonstrate their solidarity with him.

On this day, a variety of events has been scheduled in different cities across the country; and in Saint Petersburg, the Scientific Information Centre (SIC) "Memorial" will hold a roundtable on the topic: "Criminal Prosecution of Ecologist Evgeny Vitishko", says a statement posted on the SIC's website.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.