FSIN commission supports Evgeny Vitishko's motion for CER

Evgeny Vitishko, an ecological activist from the Krasnodar Territory, has filed one more motion for conditional early relief (CER) to the Kirsanov District Court of the Tambov Region. The Department of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (known as FSIN) for the Tambov Region has for the first time supported the ecologist's motion on CER. This was reported by Sergey Loktev, an advocate of Evgeny Vitishko.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 8, the Tambov Regional Court granted the complaint filed by the ecologist's defence about the refusal to replace the remaining term of imprisonment in the penal colony with the restriction of liberty. The Court has decided that the issue on commutation of sentence should be reviewed again by the court of first instance. Besides, the Court has cancelled the decision of the court of first instance to refuse Evgeny Vitishko in amnesty. Members of the "Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus" (EcoWatch), who treated as a "half-measure" the decision pronounced by the Tambov Regional Court, expressed their concern that the issue on release of Evgeny Vitishko from the penal colony could be delayed again.

Sergey Loktev has also reported that on October 10, Evgeny Vitishko stopped the hunger strike, which he declared on September 29 to protest against the decision of the courts to refuse him in CER and commutation of his sentence.

The advocate has called the health state of the activist satisfactory.

Earlier, colleagues of Evgeny Vitishko from the "EcoWatch" have reported on violation of the ecologist's rights committed by the administration of the penal colony, where he is being kept. On October 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised that the General Prosecutor's Office will verify those reports.

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